Coming Up Empty
by Alpha Zulu 2.0
Summary: With no clear memories of her past she has no choice but to move forward. But that doesn't stop Skye from carrying on with her research about her past, though she can't do it alone. Making friends and enemies along the way will the answers be enough, or will they set off an even bigger web of lies and questions? Avengers / Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Skye's Origin Story (kind of) - AU
1. Book 1: How It All Began

**AN: So guys, this is my first FanFiction. I hope you like it. If you find the time and you want to, please review so that I know what you think. Also, many thanks to the my Beta** ** _MegaDiary123,_** **who is just awesome.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Third person's POV_

"What the hell happened here?", May eventually asked the question everyone was thinking of but none dared to say out loud.

They were all staring at the building in front of them, or at least what was left of it. Being the only one in the whole block that had collapsed, it looked like a bomb went off but for some reason nothing else was affected by it.

"Well, that's what we are here to find out, right?" Coulson came and stand next to her, his eyes never leaving the ruins.

"Like always" Natasha and Clint said in unison as they were, as carefully as possible, cleaning rocks and bricks from the road. "Well, come on" Natasha shouted back to the two who had yet to come closer. "We aren't going to find anything anytime soon if you just stand there!".

Coulson smirked and looked to his partner. "Reminds me of you" he said while walking to join the two agents. May just Rolled her eyes and joined the party.

The peculiar state that the building was in, compared to the rest of them, was the reason why S.H.I.E.L.D. had gotten involved.

That's why they treated it like every other 0-8-4 mission. See if they'd find anything out of the ordinary and report it. If they were lucky they would find the reason for the collapse, but their hopes weren't very high. Always considering the state of the building, the chances of finding anything useful were nearly zero to none.

So, slowly but steadily, they continued their way to the centre of the ruins. At one-point Natasha and Clint raised a big chunk of stone, or at least tried to since it was unexpectedly heavy. But they did get a chance to look underneath in case they found something. Anything would be better than the absolute nothing they had managed to collect so far. No information and no evidence. So, when Nat saw a glimpse of a dark tunnel, she took the chance. She rushed in, leaving only Clint to support the heavy rock who quickly released his grip and the stone fell back to its place trapping Natasha underneath.

"Hey, Nat! Can you hear me?", Clint was basically screaming having forgotten that they had the comms on.

"Yeah, Legolas, I can hear you" she snorted back. "Now shut up before you make me deaf. I'm trying to work here". She took her flashlight out and after a few tries it was switched on. She made a mental mote to remember and change the batteries.

"Agents, what's your status?", Phil could be heard from the comms, his professionalism coming to surface the moment he lost Natasha from sight. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, sir. I found this tunnel that I'm following, it looked relatively safe and I'm smaller than Agent Barton so I decided to check it out".

She could hear Phil sigh from the other end of the line and in her minds eye May was rolling her eyes for her 'impulsiveness and stupidity', as she would call it. "Stay safe. We are working on lifting this rock and we'll come find you. Call in if you find anything and if the comms don't work… well, then shout. We'll keep an ear out for you".

Natasha was only half paying attention to what she was being told, it was mostly protocol after all. Her attention was to the corridor ahead. It didn't seem very stable and she didn't wanna risk it falling on top of her.

But then, she found a door at the very end of the corridor and having nowhere else to go, she decided to try her luck. There was no handle and it was made out of stone. She tries pushing, softly at the beginning and harder and harder once she decided that it was safe and the roof wouldn't budge.

Frustrated that nothing was working she started examining her surroundings. The closest thing to a way in was the bottom right corner of the door which was broken. Probably it broke while the rest of the building was falling.

Natasha laid on the ground trying to peek from the not-so-big hole that she managed to find and used her flashlight to shine inside.

"Shit!", she exclaims once she looked inside. "Guys, get in here now!", she all but screamed to the others and without knowing if it was the right move she started digging. She could faintly hear the rest of her team asking what happened or if everything was all right, but she focused at the task at hand.

She was almost finished when May and Coulson came up behind her.

"What took you so long? And where is Clint?", she asked never taking her eyes of her target.

"We came as fast as we could, and he is outside keeping watch in case anything happens. Now what's wrong?", May's voice was heard.

"There is a person in there" she replied as she finished her digging. "Finally!", she exclaimed and made a move to go in only to be stopped by May.

"I'll go" she demanded but Natasha didn't have the patient or the time for that.

"I'm smaller than you and I can get in there faster" she tried, but could still see the hesitation in May's eyes. "We don't have time for this" she added, a careful and quiet whisper. "You wanted me to take initiative, this is me doing so. Now _let me go_ ". Even though she didn't mean to, it came out as a small threat and May eyed her carefully before releasing her grip. Natasha nodded slightly and quickly got back to work.

Once she was inside she focused on the hand that was coming out of the stone debris from all around. With all the gracefulness she could master, she started unburying the person trying not to cause any more damage.

She could hear her heart beating in her ears. A sigh of relief escaped her once she spotted a face and immediately supped the girl's pale cheeks in her palm. She brushed the hair out of her closed eyes and then pressed two fingers to her throat, releasing the breath she didn't know she was holding once she found a pulse. A pulse that was weak, but a pulse nonetheless.

"It's just a girl" she whispered to herself and pulled the child's body in her arms to get her out of that place.


	2. Home Sweet Home

**AN: As always, give many thanks to my awesome beta _MegaDiary123,_ without whom this chapter would have so many grammar/voc mistakes. Also, a big thank you to all those you followed and favourited this story! If you find time and you want to, please review. I would like to hear what you think.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"I'm telling you. I'm better off with you, guys! Why do you even make me go there?", I pleaded one more time trying to make them change their minds. With a pout I looked at Nat, who was sitting in the shotgun seat next to May.

Natasha's smile only grew larger every time I asked. She was enjoying this more than she should. Couldn't she see that I was suffering?

"Oh, come on Skye. The Academy isn't that bad. You're gonna make a lot of friends and have lots of fun" she tried, but wouldn't get off that easily.

"Say's who, you?", I peeked between the two sits ignoring Mays protest to get back to my sit. "You've never even been to the Academy" I resorted trying once again to make her see reason.

"Maybe not _this_ Academy, but I had my kind of training…" she answered quietly and I immediately felt bad for bringing back the memories of the Red Room. But quickly enough she cleared her throat and turned back to look at me. "Trust me, you'll have a blast" she said smiling. One of the rare genuine smiles that I was one of the few who got the chance to witness it. And it almost made me believe her. Almost…

Before I even opened my mouth, the car stopped and May turned around as well. My eyes suddenly found the floor of the car much more interesting and I was patiently waiting for the scolding to come. So, when I felt a hand on my shoulder I flinched a little bit and closed my eyes, still not used to being touched. Even after 4 years. But nothing followed the action I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to meet May's kind ones.

Wow, it must have been a special day. Natasha's smile and May's soft gaze occurred with a difference of mere minutes? I'd be damned.

"We're here" May's voice broke through my trace. Well, of course. That explained everything.

Without having any other choice but to accept my fate I nodded and moved slightly, letting May know to take her hand off my shoulder. Grabbing the bag from next to me, I opened the door and made a move to exit the vehicle but hesitated a bit in the end.

"See you when I'll see you" was all I managed to say before heading out to the new home I would be stuck with until they decided that I was trained enough to be in the field. I didn't even look back, because I didn't trust myself enough to have the strength to say a proper goodbye.

Having nothing to lose, I looked at the tall building in front of me, mastered whatever strength I could find and walked through their 'doorstep'. This word being an understatement considering how enormous the entrance actually was.

I opened the bag and took out the paperwork that I needed and walked to the front desk.

The woman behind the desk didn't even look up to see who came in. Her focus still on the computer when she mechanically lifted her hand, palm up towards me. I put the papers in her hand and watched as she brought them down next to her computer and started reading everything and typing at the same time.

"Name?", she asked and I had a hard time not rolling my eyes. What did they even need the paperwork for if they were going to ask me either way? I was this close to opening my own pc and hacking to their system to make this whole process go faster, but I had made a promise that I couldn't break.

"Skye" I replied after a while. At the sound of my voice her eyes snapped up to mine and she looked me up and down as if not believing what she was seeing.

"Skye what?", she continued and that was it.

Screw the promise, I just couldn't stand the tone of the woman in front of me. My laptop already at hand and my fingers working quickly and without hesitation. Soon, the woman's computer page blinked and the almost-empty form that was laying lately at the screen was now full with all the necessary details.

"Would that be all?", I asked. I imagine May beside me with a frown on her face, trying really hard to hide the smile underneath but she was not here. So, the mischievous smile on my face was truly and well felt.

The agent opened her mouth in shock as she inspected the screen in front of her, her eyes darting between the filled form and me.

"I believe I won't need those anymore, so feel free to do anything you want with them" I continued pointing at the papers still at her hand. "Don't worry, I'll find my way" I pointed at the screen in my hand with the floor and number of my room.

As I kept walking through the corridors I almost forgot why I was so nervous in the first place. _Oh yeah,_ I thought to myself. How could I ever forget the two factors that changed everything?

The first problem was the Academy's specialty. Which I might had been able to avoid somehow and I had to admit that I brought it down to myself.

Lost in my thoughts, I reached my bunkers and opened the door. I walked to the empty bed and turned around, not really bothering putting up a smile and was met with the second factor that I had momentarily forgot.

"Hi there, I'm Jemma. Nice to meet you!"

People.


	3. Just Like High School

**AN: Get used to it, because I'm gonna thank my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123_ before every chapter. Also, many thanks to all those who favoured and followed this story, as well as to Kmilita94** **who reviewed the story but I couldn't send a PM to...** **Without further delay,**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I looked at the schedule in my screen. I had the rest of the day off and only my meals planned. I had to thank May for that when I talked with her again, given that it was her idea to wake up early and be in the Academy first thing in the morning.

I was patiently waiting for the time to pass so that I could grab some lunch, even if I didn't really look forwards to that event… Sitting with crossed legs on top of my bed I watched as Jemma Simmons, my one and only roommate for the rest of days here, unpacked box after box of stuff. What did she even need all those things for? It had taken me only a few minutes to arrange the things that I had in my bag. All I needed after all were some sets of clothes and my laptop equipment.

So, I watched with great curiosity all the different books, mostly, and equipment that Simmons kept unpacking even 2 hours after I arrived. I could already tell that she was a perfectionist. She must have planned her stay here months before and looked at the room's layouts. Everything went to its place, not an inch further.

I looked at my side of the room. I couldn't decide whether we would actually have fun or if my life had just become the tiniest bit harder.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, I started making my way to the canteen. With my laptop securely in my hand I braced myself and walked through the doors of the canteen. The large room was hosting at least 500 students and a fair amount of teachers, and an equally large serving station at the far right. Lots of large and small tables were everywhere, not in a specific pattern.

At first sight everything rolled out better than I expected. I hadn't really attracted anyone's attention and I planned for it to remain that way. But of course, something like that would last for long.

I had only made a couple of steps to go and grab my food when a hush spread out as the new girl was seized up by everyone. I kept on walking towards the serving station, not really paying attention to the laughter that rose here and there and the smirks that could be easily seen on most of the student faces. So far nothing seemed different from High School and I had my fair share of experience in that treatment.

So, I resumed the same plan I had at the time. Head high, eyes on the target and one step at the time, not too slow but not too fast at the same time. I took a plate and began putting myself some food.

When I turned around I was met with a hundred and more curious looks. I knew that look all too well and was used to it. But then a though rose in my mind and I recoiled a bit. _Was that how I was looking at Simmons when we were at our room? Geez… if that's the case, maybe I should apologise,_ I made a mental note for later on.

Once I had everything I needed, I made my way to the emptiest table that I could find. The moment I sat down, I immediately took out my computer and turned my attention to the device in front of me.

For some time the only sound that could be heard was that of my keyboard. Until, finally, the welcoming committee came over. It was a total of 7 students whose muscularity made it obvious that they were part of Operations. I could hear their footsteps coming close by the second but never acknowledged their presence when they just stopped in front of me and stared without speaking.

"So, you're the rookie" one of them said, not really a question but it was clear that he expected an answer, or at least something to come out of my mouth. But I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I just kept on typing, my appetite lost the moment he came into view.

From the corner of my eye I could see him seizing me up. "I'm guessing Communications" he continued trying to make me say anything, but I had far more experience than he expected.

With satisfaction I saw him get up and dismiss me with his hand. Still not fully looking up, I observed as he made a move to turn around and my eyes darted to the person with whom I had spent the last couple of hours. Our eyes made contact and I could clearly see the fear in hers.

I was so gonna regret this.

"What gave it away?", I said loudly and looked up meeting the gaze of the guy that quickly sat back down in the seat across from mine.

"Oh, look, it speaks" he said and a smile forming on his face.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that comment. "Oh, look, it can state the obvious" I replied not able to help myself.

His friends all wanted to burst out laughing, but one look from the guy and they all shut it. His smile had long disappeared. If I didn't have his full attention before, well now I had more than that. "What are you doing here, _kid_?", he put a lot of emphasis on the last word, "This ain't Kindergarten". His eyes narrowed and watching my every move.

"Again, stating the obvious" I said and shook my head a bit.

"What's your name?" Anger was now oozing out of him in waves.

"Wouldn't you like to know?", I said with a smirk.


	4. Not So Bad After All

**AN: First things first, please give thumbs up to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also, this week I had some inspiration and that's why I'm gonna post 3 chapters. Generally I'm gonna upload as much as I can, at least 2 chapters a week. If not, it means I have some serious writers block. Anyhow, I hope you like this chapter.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Simmons' POV_

I was really excited to start attending at the Academy of Science and Technology in S.H.I.E.L.D.. Being seventeen with two PhDs and a ton of questions, this was one, if not _the_ , best day of my life. The sun wasn't really high in the sky when I arrived at the facility and after doing the paperwork and taking the campus map, I made my way to my room.

I already knew that I would have a roommate and couldn't be happier about it. We could explore the wonders of the world and make new discoveries together. Because they had to be from Science and Tech, right? Those were the rules, after all. So when the door opened, not too long after my arrival I was met with something unexpected.

I was met with a kid! She looked like… what, fifteen? Did she even finish High School? And that's when I knew that there was no way she was part of my Academy. Even if we didn't take the age factor into account, she only had a bag and a computer.

 _So… Communications?_ I wondered to myself. She didn't even say her name, and choosing to just go straight to her bed and sat in front of her computer. I could see her peeking and wondering what all of my things were and my assumption for her not being in Science was confirmed. Silence filled the room as she was on her computer and I was making sure everything went to its rightful place.

Before I knew it the time had passed and she was heading out, probably to the canteen to get something to eat. I sighed and soon followed in her steps as my growling stomach complained due to the lack of food.

 _You would think that because she's in Communications, she would be at little a bit good at communicating._ My thoughts were short-lived as I saw the door to the canteen in front of me. I knew what that meant. Mercilessly teasing the new girl and since I couldn't possibly avoid it, I braced myself and slowly open the door.

But the room was already quiet and then I remembered the other girl. Everyone's attention was on her and none of them had really seen me come in. This was my chance! Once she sat down, I carefully poured myself some food and sat in a four-seated table that was empty and close to the exit door.

Soon a group of guys walked right up to her and everyone's attention was to what they were saying.

"So, you're the rookie" the one who seems the leader of the group said. After getting no reply he tried again, looking her up and down. "I'm guessing communication" but was once again met with silence. Oh, she was good, I would give her that. And he was starting to see that she wasn't going to even acknowledge him.

He figured as much and gave up trying to tease her, so he started turning around to leave. But he was turning the wrong way, _my way_. And I knew for sure that he would spot me and that I would be his next victim.

I was looking straight at him and even if he didn't mean to, there was no way I wouldn't get attract his attention. But I couldn't take my eyes off him.

That's when I saw it. The slightest movement coming from my roommate who was proudly looking at the guy's retreating figure. Her eyes darted to the room and only for a second they made contact with mine. I must have looked at her filled with dread, because just as he was about to fully face me she spoke up.

"What gave it away?" Her face was a blank not revealing her emotions, though I was sure that she was having a mental argument with herself about deciding to help me.

Her voice got the guy's attention and that of the rest of the canteen once again. I watched in awe as she talked back to him as if it was nothing. She actually looked like she enjoyed herself. The rest of the canteen seemed to fall back to its routine and other peoples voices soon filled the room. But my attention was fully rested on the girl who was too young to deal a situation like that so swiftly.

Thankfully she was left alone after a while and I didn't have to kick myself as much for her standing up for me even if we were the only ones that knew about it. She never looked at me again and I didn't know how to feel about that.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

When I got back to the room it was empty. I didn't expect to see Simmons either way, she should still be eating. But something told me that she wouldn't be far behind, so I got back on my bed and plugged my computer. Didn't want it to run out of battery and I had completely forgotten to charge it before getting here.

My expectations were met soon after, when the dorm door open.

What I did not expect, was what came next or the lack of it at least. No talking, no trying to make conversation, just plain old silence. My eyes were glued on my screen for a bit longer but curiosity over took and I looked up.

Simmons was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, back against the wall and was just staring at me. The curious kind of staring, as she was studying me and probably trying to figure out what I was thinking. I raised an eyebrow at that and she shook her head as if just understanding that I was looking back at her.

"I'm sorry" she hurried to say. "I didn't mean to stare, it's more of a habit" she added. To be honest I could see that. The scientist in her, observing what she didn't understand and trying to find what was that which confused her. I mentally smiled at that, my face still blank but not hostile.

My eyes were once again set on my screen but I could see that she wanted something. The way she played with her shirt, finding something for her hands to do. Observing seemed to be something we had in common. The only difference being I was usually observing people and she must have been observing… whatever they observed at a lab. She was obviously not good at figuring out people's thoughts from their body language.

"Just say it" I said and saw her pause for a moment. Then it hit me. It was the first time that I spoke to her since I got here and she mustn't have expected me to say anything.

After she recovered from the shock she carefully got up and slowly walked towards me, as if afraid she would scare me off. She extended her hand to me and I saw that she was holding a granola bar. I raised an eyebrow at this and took the bar.

After a long pause Simmons spoke up, "I figured you might be hungry. I saw that you didn't eat anything at lunch".

I contemplated it for a minute. It was not that I wasn't good with people. If I wanted to, I could be very good with them, but usually they didn't want to be friends with me because of how young I was. That's why I had learned to distance myself and not get my hopes up.

"Thank you" I told her, placing the granola next to me as I set down the computer and sat up straight across from her. She had returned to her side of the room.

"Thank you" she replied instantly. "If it wasn't for you, things would probably be worst for me now and you took it upon yourself to help".

She sounded sincere, so I nodded and smiled back at her. That must have lifted her spirits as she smiled back and relaxed more in her bed.

Maybe Nat was right after all… maybe things wouldn't be as hard as I though. Maybe it was the positivity that Simmons was radiating from across the room, but for a moment I thought that even if we hadn't really spoken all day, there was a bond that was starting to form between the two of us.

Maybe we could be friends after all…


	5. Sparring 101

**AN: Many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also to all you who keep on reading this story, thank you so much.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

My first official day of training began a couple of days after my arrival at the facility. To say that I was excited about it didn't come close to the way that I actually felt in the slightest.

I had already gotten a glimpse of the way that people from my classes acted on my first day in the Academy. A smirk settled on to my face, but I quickly made it disappear before anyone saw it. I was sitting alone in the large gym that had mats spread out everywhere. The top part of the wall across from the door was covered in one-way glass. I was sure that while training other teachers would observe. I didn't really like the idea of having other people watching me without my knowledge but it didn't really matter what I thought.

Of course no-one was there yet, since it was around 5 in the morning and training didn't start until 7. But that gave me some time to myself that was just what I needed to calm my nerves.

I threw my bag on a bench and went to the centre of the room. I made some breathing exercises to begin with, and then my normal morning routine began as if I was in a trance. From the very first time that I started it, I had found out that Tai Chi, this early, was the best way to start my day.

My thoughts were flowing as I moved around the space. I lost track of time as the frustrations from the first days in this new environment were slowly melting away.

I slowed down to a finish once I was satisfied with myself and closed my eyes, taking for the last time a few deeps breaths. The emptiness in my mind shattered the moment I heard the gyms door close. I turned around to find it shut. Maybe it was just my imagination…

I walked to my bag and checked my phone. It was 06:30, so I still had enough time for a quick shower and get back here before the training began. I wrapped everything up and headed out.

* * *

When I got in the gym the second time, there was a total of about thirty other people already waiting. Just like in the canteen, all eyes turned on me and once they figured I wasn't a familiar face all conversations subsided.

For about five second, which seemed to me like five hours, nothing was heard. However, once the silence broke, I found myself wishing for it to come back.

"You got lost kid?", a voice full of superiority was heard.

I watched with a blank face as the guy, who had decided to torment me on my first day, walked towards me and stood proud and tall a few feet away. Out of all the possible groups that I would be assigned to, why did I have to be in the one in which he was part of? My luck seemed to run really low lately.

"Nope, I'm exactly where I have to be" I replied trying very hard not to put much emotion in my voice. I was better trained than this, but this guy seemed to get under my skin all too easy and it annoyed me to no end.

"This isn't the Communication's building" he raised an eyebrow at this.

 _Stating the obvious yet again,_ I thought but decided against letting it out of my head. Instead I kindly smiled at him, a fake and well-practised smile. "I know. I'm not in Communications". He laughed hard at that and the other six of his pack followed suit, while the rest of the room remained quiet. "Oh, I'm a hacker all right. I was just too good that they decided to put me in Operations" I finished and made a move to leave but he grabbed my arm.

I took in a deep breath and turned to look at him. "You're not for Ops kid. I know your kind. You hackers always cower behind your computers" he finally, _finally_ , let go of my arm. "You ain't gonna last a week here".

Thankfully the door opened and agent Maria Hill, our instructor, came in.

"What's going on here?", she asked once she took in the sight of the way that guy was looking at me, "Nothing, ma'am". His answer was too quick, combined with a step away from me and that was all I needed to know.

"Good, now get ready for warm-up" she continued without even glancing at me.

* * *

After the warm-up, we did some strength training and then there was the time for sparring. Hill paired everyone in the group, but I was left last because we were a single number in total. I watched carefully each sparring, taking in as many information I could.

"Grant, Davis, you're up next".

 _So, Grant it is_ , I though as I saw the same guy that I was sure wanted to make my life a living hell while I was in the Academy. My attention was now fully at that match and, not to my surprise, it didn't last long. Not even a minute and a half later Davis was tapping out and it was over. When Ward got up he looked at my way and grinned.

When all the matches were finished, I was the only one who was left completely unharmed.

"By now you all know that I don't play favourites" Hill's voice echoed through the gym. "No matter the gender, or the age" she said the last part and looked in my eyes. "So, I find it appropriate to have our newest member here spar, but I'll leave the choice to you. Whoever would be willing to show her what we do here at S.H.I.E.L.D. please raise your hands".

"I'll do it" Grant's voice was heard loud and clear. "I just don't wanna break anything" he continued as he approached me on the mats. His usual smile was on his face, as always.

My eyes quickly locked at Hill's blue ones. "Don't worry, that's what the Med Bay is for" and she slightly nodded. "You're sure, ma'am?", it was my turn to ask. Grant laughed at that and threw me a pair of MMA gloves. "Yes" Hill replied and moved between us.

Once we both had the equipment on, Ward came closer and asked me to touch gloves. "No hard feelings" he said as my glove made contact with his.

As soon as the whistle was heard the smile disappeared from my face. My concentration at its fullest and my mind raced back at everything I managed to get from my opponent's last match. I patiently waited for him to make the first move, but didn't have to wait long.

He made a quick left jab, followed by a right hook. The same starting move from before and I had a hard time not rolling my eyes. He continued throwing punches and kicks, but I swiftly dodged or blocked every single one of them. I could see him growing frustrated that he couldn't land a hit.

Waiting patiently I watched as his tolerance grew smaller and smaller by the minute and knew that it was only a matter of seconds before he made a mistake.

And then he did. The more-than-normal sloppy right jab was all I wanted.

I grabbed his hand with my left. I earned a small cry, both of surprise and of pain, as I twisted his wrist. Before he could even register what happened, my legs were locked around his neck we were both on the floor.

He tried his best to get out of the hold, but I kept my grip both on his hand and neck firm. Without any escape, he tapped at my leg and I released my legs and gracefully got back on my feet. Grant was still on the floor. He was carefully cradling his right wrist close to his chest with his uninjured hand. His eyes were full of surprise, but the feeling quickly changed to hatred.

"No hard feelings" I said as I offered my hand to help him up.

Of course, he didn't take it and it took him a while to actually get up because of his wrist. The room was once again dead silent and he stood tall in front of me. All the other cadets were looking at us, or to be more precise at me. Grant took a step back and joined the rest of the students as I felt a hand on my shoulder and tried hard not to flinch from the touch. I titled my head to see Hill next to me.

"I suppose now it is the right time for a proper introduction" her eyes never leaving those of the others from the group. "Everyone, this is cadet Skye. From here on out she will be a part of your group and you'll treat her as you have every new member before her". Then she turned her head to look at me.

"Welcome to the family".


	6. Bad Day

**AN: Hi guys. Lets start as usual with big thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Now, I know that you haven't seen a lot of action yet and this is because for a few more chapters I'm establishing the backstory. The action will come, just later on, so please bear with me. Thank you for reading this story and don't hesitate to review or PM me if you want.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I had been at the Academy for six months. Six months that went by quit quickly to be honest. My day-to-day life usually consisted of training, classes and then more training. It wasn't really that bad. I had to admit that it was so much better than High School. The main reason for that being Simmons.

We spent most of our free time together, but it was a little bit tricky. She had quickly become very popular in her Academy because of her ideas and how smart she was. And she _was_ extremely smart. Sometimes she would get lost in her own thoughts and mind and began rambling about what problems one formula had or why something else didn't work. Most of the time I couldn't even keep up with her for more than five minutes when she was in that state.

But other people from her Academy could understand most, in the best case scenario, of her gibberish. So, she fitted there perfectly and it was only natural that others looked up to her despite her being just a year older than me.

Not that I hadn't become famous myself. But, in my case, a lot of other cadets weren't very fond of me. That was because of two factors, the first one being the high rate of washouts. Who knew that having a fifteen year old girl that could keep up if not be better than most of them would make a lot of people see me as a threat.

The second factor was the people I hang out with. Simmons might have become popular, but we were always seen together. She did most, if not all, of the talking and I was a great listener. So whenever she would go out with her other friends I would usually tag along, because she was saying that I was spending too much time alone with my computer. She was so nice, and the first truly good friend that I had since I could remember myself that I couldn't say no to.

This is how everyone had learned that we were a package deal. Wherever one went, the other would soon follow. But sometimes even that wasn't enough.

* * *

"So, tell me. Did you make any new friends?" That was usually how our conversations with Natasha started and this time wasn't an exception.

"No… you already know the answer to that question. Why even bother asking?"

"Because _I'm_ your friend and I care?", she said back. I sighed and I must have been louder than I expected because she picked it up quickly. "Hey what's wrong?", her tone changing to that of concern fairly quickly.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's good" I said not truly believing it. I was having a really bad day.

"Good, but not great. I know you for four-five years Skye and I know when something is bothering you. Is it Ward again? I swear, if Fury ever puts us in the same mission, even if he allows us in the same base I'm gonna have a long talk with him" her words full of venom. Her protectiveness coming out every time Ward's name was mentioned.

"Nah, it's not him. After all he will go in a mission in a couple of months to prove his worth as a field agent. Then, hopefully he will earn his budge and I won't have to see him again" I said before I thought of what had just come out of my mouth.

"Skye…" Natasha's voice suddenly became low. The only warning sign that I needed. I facepalmed and pressed my temples thinking of how stupid I was. "You promised, no more hacking in the servers".

"I couldn't resist! Plus, I'm in Ops not Communications, so how else was I supposed to practice. It isn't the first time and it won't be the last, we both know it". I decided not to lie to Natasha, she would know and then everything would just be worse.

I could hear her from the other end of the line taking deep breaths. I missed her more than I dared to admit. As I opened my mouth to tell her about why I was having the worst day in the past six months, my laptop buzzed.

"Shit, I have to go Nat! I'm really sorry for cutting our conversation short, say hi to Phil, May and Clint from we, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it". I was about to end the call when I heard her call my name and I placed the phone back to my ear. "You know that you can tell me anything right?", her voice was soft, and it spread a warm feeling in my chest.

"Of course" I replied just as softly. "Talk to you soon, be careful out there" I ended the call before her voice reached my ears.

My head rested on the wall I was sitting against and I closed my eyes trying to control my breath.

* * *

 _Ward's POV_

I was doing my late-night run in the forest next to the Academy. Garrett had informed me that I was to go undercover in a few weeks and my excitement was giving me more energy than I needed. I really wanted to make him proud for taking me in and teaching me everything I knew, I didn't want to let him down.

Because of that my head was full of thoughts almost all the time every day since I was informed about my graduation test. These runs helped empty my mind and enter the trance that I yearned for at the moment.

The forest itself had a built path for whenever we did endurance exercises. But after exploring the woods, I rarely used the indicated path. And I was the only one that did that, at least as far as I knew. That was why I stopped short and hid behind a trunk once I heard other footsteps closing in near-by. My breath forming white in front of my face because of how low the temperature was.

Even more to my surprise I saw the _kid_ running alone in the dark. That brought an idea to my head and a smile to my face. It was pay-back time.

"What's up kid?" I asked when she came close enough. As if in instinct she threw a kick my way which I barely escaped. Now that she was facing me she put her hands in front of her face, ready for a fight.

"Don't you know that you shouldn't sneak up on people?", annoyance clear in her voice. Her words came out breathlessly as she still tried to catch her breath. This was the first time that I saw her breathless. "What do you want Ward?", her eyes were a narrowed and never leaving mine.

That's when I saw it. The tiniest bit of tear paths, frozen to her cheeks. If her being here had surprised me, then this put a whole new meaning to the word. I just stood there, unable to do anything. Just keep on staring at her brown eyes who were calculating me and my every movement.

Not long after she got restless and lowered her hands. "I don't have the time or the mood for this" she dismissed and turn to restart her running.

I wasn't even sure why I did it, but my hand was wrapped around her arm, just like that first day in training.

We both stopped moving at once. She slowly turned her head to look at my grip and then lifted her gaze to meet my eyes. There was a threat as clear as day in her eyes even before she spoke. " _Let go_ " she didn't even shout. Her tone so quiet and serious that I had never heard before. Slowly I did as I was told.

"Are you okay?", I asked, not faking the concern in my voice. God, I had never seen the girl show much emotion, what with her always having a facade on all the time. This uneasiness that rose inside me when I understood that she had been crying was something I hadn't planned, but was still there asking for an explanation.

"Peachy! Now, if you'll excuse me" she said and once again turned to leave.

I didn't dare grab her again and so I just run after her. "Hey, what's wrong?", but she continued to her routine, trying not to pay any attention to me but I could see her turning stiff. "I think you should head back" I tried reasoning with her but still nothing. "Skye…" this made her stop.

"What Ward? What do you want? Don't pretend like you care" she said and was well justified.

Ever since she arrived I had made her life a living hell. That was because in a matter of days, no-one ever respected me. I was the top of my class, everyone was looking up to me. But then she came, and everything was turned upside down. But as much as I hated what happened, I always admired her.

Being fifteen in an Academy like that and with her skills wasn't an easy task. And as if that wasn't enough of a reason, she was on top of the class, always there and with the answer or skills to do what was asked of her. She acted in a way that nothing seemed to bother her, no matter what others thought or whispered behind her back. Truth be told, I might have started some of the rumours myself, but I was acting out of a grudge that had lasted far more that it should.

"I–" I started but didn't even get to finish.

"No, you listen to me" she came closer with every word. "You never liked me. You never even called me by my name until now". Now that was something that I hadn't even realised before she mentioned it, but it was true. I always called her 'newbie' or 'kid'.

"And I'll say this once and I would suggest you don't forget it" she said, stepping closer. For someone so small her presence was tremendous and I had to hold myself so as not to step back. "Today, never happened. If I hear that you mentioned it or even send it as an email or message to _anyone,_ I'll know. _Trust me._ And you don't want to see me angry."

And with that she left me alone in the dark.

Alone in shock and with more questions about her than I had before.


	7. An Unexpected Revelation

**AN: As always, big thanks to my one and only Beta _MegaDiary123._ Thank you for reading and supporting this story, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

It has been a week since my night encounter with Grant and he had yet to tell anyone about it. I was pleasantly surprised by it, but I guess my threat scared him off. Good… I didn't want anyone looking into my personal life.

"So, what are you doing tonight?", I asked Simmons who was laying on her bed the same way I was in mine. From the corner of my eye I could see her titling her head at my direction and raise an eyebrow.

But nonetheless she didn't question me, at least not yet. "Well, let me check" she answered and got up to take a look at her planner.

"Why even bother keeping a planner? Or checking it out? For starters you don't have that many stuff that you do every day. Also, I am a hundred percent sure that you have memorised all your activities for the next month!" Sometimes it was very hard for me to understand what was going on in that head of hers.

"Well, Skye, just because some of us…" her eyes pointed at me before getting back at reading her daily activities, "…don't see the worth of a planner, it doesn't mean that none of us do". She mockingly faked being hurt by my words. "And you may or may not be right about me knowing my daily schedule for some weeks in advance, but there is nothing wrong with that or with double checking. What if I forgot something, _anything_? Oh, what if I forgot a lecture?" Her eyes grew a bit larger at the thought.

I couldn't suppress the laugh that escaped my lips. Her eyes instantly narrowed and she grimaced at me. "Don't you dare laugh at me! This is important, how do you expect me to keep up with _my_ Academy without a proper plan? I'm sure that in _your_ Academy things are more lenient. Not so strict a schedule as ours and such" she dismissed with her hand. "Besides I'm a perfectionist and you know it. It's in my nature to want everything planned" she finished and got back at looking her little notebook.

"Well Simmons what happened, is the Academy rivalry finally getting in your head? Come on you know that we aren't that bad, and you have no idea how strict our lessons and attendance are" I replied truthfully. Well, almost saying the whole truth. I did know that our rules were stricter than theirs, I had hacked in both systems by now and knew the rules for both Academies. If I hadn't done as much I would be disappointed with myself.

"Well not all of you are" she said smiling at me. "But so far you're the only one that I know of that isn't that bad." I opened my mouth to say something back but she raised her hand to silence me and spoke before I had a chance to even form a word. "And you can't say that I am not right because you hang with us all the time. I haven't even seen you once associate with people from your group".

Well, I couldn't really deny that. Hill had said that we were supposed to be a family. From what I had learned, family meant not lying to each other, being there in case one needs help and to support one another. At least I thought I knew what that term meant. I wasn't so sure about that anymore.

"Do you have anything to do tonight?" I asked once more tired of our conversation and the turn it took.

Simmons closed the planner hard and sat back on her bed. "Nope, why? What do you have in mind?", excitement was written all over her face.

"I was thinking that, oh I don't know, we could sneak down the boiler and then go through the door that is supposed to lead to maintenance" I smiled broadly waiting for her reaction. I wasn't disappointed.

She gasped and then started mouthing words without actually making any sound. "How do you even know about this?" She finally managed to say coherent enough for me to understand. My smile getting even boarder was enough of an answer for her to translate. "You hacked into our systems, didn't you?".

"Oh, come on. It wasn't really that hard to learn about it. You seemed to forget that I always listen to what others around us say. It wasn't really hard to put two and two together once I had heard a couple of people talking about an underground bar. Plus, your main problem is people from Ops finding out about it. Who would I even tell?"

Finally reason seemed to make its way to her and she relaxed once again. But then reality, or more logic in our case, hit her hard and her demeanour took a 180.

"No! Absolutely not! I've never been there and you won't do such thing either, at least not until you are an adult" she said firmly.

"Is that a challenge?" I wanted to play a little bit with her. But I know that she knew as well that if she didn't come along, my chances of actually going there were extremely low.

"No, it's not. It's a rule that I'm setting here and now. It is illegal. I'm not going to be part of your bad girl shenanigans!" Now that was the most British thing I had heard her say, and I had heard a lot, and the accent didn't help in the slightest.

"What's illegal is drinking. We won't do that, we're just gonna relax outside of the room for a change. Plus, you said it yourself. You've never been down there and I can see that you want to. Your curiosity gets the best of you a lot of times and this is no different"

She took a couple of breaths to compose herself. "Fine, we'll go" she said and thought about it for a while. Then turned to me and asked, "Why do you even ask? This is the first time I've heard of you asking to go out" with a big question mark written all over her face.

I thought about my answer for a while, not sure how much to say.

"Let's just say that I need to get my mind off things" and thankfully she didn't question it any further.

* * *

I was sitting in one of the large, leather couches that the underground bar had. As promised I had not taken any alcoholic beverage and had ended up with plain old water.

Even if she didn't want to admit it, Simmons was excited that she came down. She had even invited her best friend with her, one guy named Fitz. He was actually a rocket scientist, how cool was that?

He was a really quiet guy and only opened himself when Simmons was there. I could relate. Simmons had that aura that made you wanna be friends with her.

No matter what my relationship with Simmons was, it was easy to see how close her and Fitz had come. They started at the Academy around the same time, Fitz only arriving at the Academy a few weeks after Simmons and I did. They had this instant bond because they were talking the same language. All that gibberish from Simmons somehow made sense to him. He was also a very often topic in the conversations I had with her, since they spend a lot of time together.

I watched as they talked at the bar and soon came over to where I was.

"So, you both know each other only by name and it is time to actually meet. Skye, this is Leopold Fitz. Fitz, this is Skye" I got up and shook the hand that Fitz extended my way.

"You've talked about me?" We both asked almost simultaneously, something that made Simmons laugh.

"But seriously. _Leopold_? Do I have to call you that?" I asked.

"Oh, please don't. You can call me Leo or Fitz, whatever you prefer" he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "Is there a surname that I should know of, Skye?".

"Nope" was my quick reply and I could see how Simmons wasn't expecting a reply but would be very happy to have one. My attention was soon turned back to Fitz

I had seen him around with Simmons once or twice in the past, I just didn't know that he was the one named Fitz. And as I paid attention to his accent, it was quite strange. Definitely not American, but not English as Simmons' was. "You're Scottish?" I made a wild guess and was glad that my speculation was verified when he nodded.

"But seriously, what have you told him about me?" This time I turned to my roommate who was trying to look innocent.

"Yeah, what she said" Fitz moved and stood next to me and crossing his hands over his chest. I had to say, seeing Fitz trying to be intimidating was hilarious.

"Don't be like that" Simmons said as she moved behind and in between us. She wrapped her hands around both of our shoulders and peeked between our faces. As I observed the scene play out, I caught Fitz blush a little when Simmons' hand touched his shoulder but said nothing of it. "You two are my best friends, I have nothing bad to say about either of you".

I had gotten used to Simmons touching my hand or shoulder and made nothing of it. I had even stopped flinching out of instinct. But her words made me step away from her and look into her eyes. The sincerity in them made me start tear up and the concern that replaced her happiness didn't help.

"Excuse me for a minute" I said to them and quickly moved out of the bar and out in the open in desperate need for the cold wind to hit my face. I could hear Simmons saying, as loudly as her manners allowed her, my name but I just needed some time for myself. Soon I found myself in the woods, running a bit and after some time I found the spot that I was looking for. So, I sat on the ground with my back on a big rock that could as well have my name on it considering how many times I had been there in the past, just to clear my head.

I had more or less only four people in my life that I would consider friends or something more. But I was never sure if they actually wanted to be my friends or were just acting that way because they were the ones to find me. And just as I was in a good place with our relationship I had to find out about that damn redacted file which made me reconsider our whole relationship.

But with Simmons, sure I had thought about the possibility of being friends with her. And I had to admit that we had gotten closer through the last half year that we shared a room but I was never sure where she stood.

Sure, we talked more than we did at the beginning and we each knew a lot of things about the other. Or, to be more precise, I knew a lot of things about her. She didn't really have any knowledge about my past. And I could tell that she wanted to know because her eyes glinted with curiosity every time a similar subject would come up. But she never pushed and was always very caring.

But that word… _friend,_ was never said and I was starting to believe that she was just spending time with me because of pity. Because I didn't have anyone else.

Tears were running down my face when I heard footsteps getting closer. I quickly cleared my eyes of any signs of crying and got up to leave before I stumbled upon Ward again. I was about to head off when a voice stopped me.

"Skye" I turned around to find Simmons stopping a good distance away from me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked and couldn't help as my gaze scanned around for Fitz.

She must have seen my eyes darting around. "He is not here. It's just me" she said and her hands had risen as if to show me that she meant no harm. But she stayed still. "I wanted to see if you're okay…" she tried as I didn't say anything back after her first reply.

"I'm fine. How did you even know about this place?" I had never come here with anyone and the only guy that knew about me coming to the woods was Grant.

"I know more things about you than you know Skye" I stiffened a bit at that and she picked up on it. "What I mean, is… I know that you wake up and train every morning at five in the morning when everyone else is asleep. I know that you come here to be alone and that this is the place where you let yourself be free of that mask that you wear the rest of the day" she said and had started moving closer to me. "And I know for a fact that you are not fine".

"How do you–"

"Know all that?" She finished my sentence. She was now standing only a few feet away from me. "Because I observe. My whole career is based on observation and problem-solving. And I know you do the same to everyone, always there in the sidelines, listening" she was now right in front of me.

All this time, I was giving her less credit than she deserved. "But why?" I needed to hear it.

"Because I'm your friend and I care about you. And it's ok if you still don't see me that way, but I do. And I want you to know that I'll be there for you if you need me and you can tell me anything and I won't say it to anyone else. You can trust me and I'll never betray that trust" her hands now wrapped around me in a soft embrace.

The way that her words sounded so similar to what Natasha had told me some days ago and so many times in the past made me break. All the feelings that I had kept bottled up came crashing down.

She didn't seem to mind when a wet spot started growing on her jacket, or when my hands mimicked hers and I pressed myself against her chest.

"Thank you".


	8. Late Night Talk

**ΑΝ: Many thanks to my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also, thank you all who read/followed/favourited/reviewed this story. Hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

We stayed out there in the quiet of the night for a few more minutes. And we would have stayed longer hadn't Simmons commented on how cold it was.

"Let's get back inside. I'll make some hot chocolate and we can talk if you want, or just sit on the beds or whatever. I really don't mind" she said as we headed to our room. I didn't say anything more, unsure of what to say exactly.

Once we reached our destination, we got inside to change to some more comfy clothes. "I'll make the chocolates, don't worry about it" I said and made a move to leave. I could feel Simmons getting ready to object but I turned to her and titled the edges of my mouth a bit upwards. "You've done enough today, please let me do at least that".

Normally I would leave without waiting for an answer, but I went against my habit and looked at my roommate. It took her a while, but in the end she gave in and sat on her bed while crossing her legs. "I'll be here then" she smiled back.

* * *

 _Simmons' POV_

I watched as Skye's silhouette disappeared in the corridors of the Academy. My mind was racing to a hundred different directions.

Sure, it was a bold step calling her my best friend. We hadn't even called each other a friend before. But I was watching her for all those months, slowly opening up to me. Not too much, but I had realistic expectations to start with.

From our very first encounter I knew that she didn't talk about herself much and kept lots of secrets. And I wasn't really sure whether or not we would even get the chance to be friends. It would require a lot from my part and I didn't know if I would have the energy and the time to actually pursue something that seemed so hard. Instead, I had quickly decided to focus on my studies. And I would be more than happy with that.

But then the incident in the canteen changed every thought that I had made that far. She stood up for me and basically protected me, even though she didn't know me and didn't have to. She took all the teasing from the guy, who we would soon find out, was in the same training group as her.

This was the moment when I decided that no matter how much I would have to try, being friends with a girl like that would definitely be worth it.

The truth was that I was hoping for a better reaction from her part. Maybe not any reaction at all, or a smile at best but not her almost flying out of the building and out in her hiding spot. I couldn't let her alone there, I had watched her retreat there too many times to begin with and this was not a time for her to be alone.

 _Alone,_ I thought once more. This word pulled me out of the trance that I usually entered when my mind was running wild. I checked my clock and furrowed my eyebrows. Skye was gone for a good half an hour, she should have been back by now.

First, I checked the canteen. Dinner had finished a while back and though there were some students and teachers still there, it wasn't too crowded. It was easy enough to scan the tables and the coffee machine, where I knew that Skye would order the hot chocolates from. She was nowhere in sight.

The thought of her going outside again was quickly erased from my mind. She would have to come back to the room to get some warmer clothes. And she wouldn't go out in the cold with just her thin jacket, or so I wished.

However, there were still a couple of places she could be, but my feet moved me to the gym.

I was half expecting to find her going through her morning routine, despite the hour. Tai Chi I thought it was called? I shrugged, not my kind of stuff. When I slowly opened the door I just found her on the floor, legs crossed, palms on her lap and eyes closed. Two steaming cups of chocolate were on her left, likely forgotten.

The door creaked a bit and her head snapped my way. Once she saw that it was me, she let a breath escape her lips and relaxed a bit.

"I'm so sorry" she said when she realised why I was here. "I lost track of time" her tone was full of guilt.

She made a move to stand up, but I stopped her when I approached her. "I didn't mind it. Seriously, I was just worried that something happened to you" I kindly smiled at her. I found myself doing it more often than not when I was with her. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" She just shook her head.

We just sat there, in the silence that seemed to embrace us. A million questions were running in my head and I tried to keep them at bay, until I couldn't anymore.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to" I began whispering, but because of the quiet of the room my voice traveled to the whole length of the gym. "Why do you always keep the facade on? You know, when you're not alone that is".

At first, I thought that she wasn't gonna answer. But then I noticed that her body language indicated that she was still relaxed. So, I knew that she was going to speak even if it took her some time to find the proper words to answer back. I wasn't disappointed.

"It's easier not to trust people" she began and I could see that this was hard for her. Talking about something so personal, but, still, it was a step she needed to take.

"It's easier not to get attached. I tried it you know? Imagine a young girl in a class with people three years older than her. All I wanted was to fit in, I even tried to make friends" she grimaced at the memory of what happened. "But all they wanted was to make fun of me. So, they pretended to be my friends, that was until I ended up being humiliated in front of the whole school. From there on out I was the freak with the computer that was always alone"

I imagined a smaller Skye in the country yard under a tree or alone in the classroom during breaks, and even older kids making fun of her and teasing her all-day long.

"And in the Academy that I'm in? Well, all Hell will break loose for me if I don't keep the _facade_ on, as you said. All they'll see will be weakness and they will be no different from those High School kids. And I have a feeling that things will get so much worse if I start letting people in". Her voice didn't hold much of any particular emotion and that worried me. This shouldn't be the voice coming from a fifteen year old girl.

"You know…" I began. "I had scoliosis when I was younger. It was so bad that I had to stay at bed almost all the time" her attention was fully on me. "My father would always take me outside and we would stargaze whenever we got the chance. It was one of the reason why I became a scientist, you know?" I smiled at the memory. "I put all of my effort into my studies and I ended up here, two years older than you and with two PhD's. Do you think people were always kind to me? No, so _trust me_ when I tell you that I know what you've been through" I looked at her.

"Trust me, you don't" she said almost to herself, but I heard it all the same.

"Okay, maybe I don't. But I would like to know if that's all right with you. I want to show you that it's okay to let people in. Even if you won't admit it, I know that you'll always be there for me. Just like that first day we met" I saw a smile form in her lips and I knew I was in the right way.

"So, I guess I'm here to tell you that I'll always be there for you. It doesn't matter what you tell me about you, or what the circumstances may be. I'll be there. And that's all you need to know" I moved a bit closer to her and our hips now touched.

"Do you trust me? Because I _definitely_ trust you"

Her eyes full of shock as I spoke those words. She carefully but willingly eased next to me and her head rested on my shoulder.

"You're one hell of a friend, you know that?" I heard her say.

"Well, I have my moments" I replied and hearing her laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard.

We stayed like that for a few more minutes until she got up quickly. My confusing look must have been funny because her laugh echoed though the room once more. "We have to get back and get you to sleep?" She said as if it was obvious and she moved to the door dragging me behind her.

"Oh, do we?" I asked not sure where she was going with this.

"Of course we do, I'm gonna drag you with me tomorrow morning for some Tai Chi. Trust me, it'll make your whole day better and you have that exam next week, right? The one that you study so hard for?" We were at our room by now.

"Well, yeah. But you know my opinion about waking up early. Mornings are _evil_ " we were both now at our beds and before I had the chance to say anything the lights were switched of.

"Don't you trust me?", she said, and I could imagine a smirk on her face despite my inability to see her. "That's a low hit, you know that, right?" I replied not really hiding my annoyance.

"And that's why we are gonna sleep so early. So, you'll get your full six-hours of sleep that you want to have at least every night" I couldn't really argue with that, so I sighed.

"Fine, you win. Good night Skye" I said and closed my eyes.

"'Night Jemma" my eyes snapped opened but made no sound. I waited until I heard her breaths even out and got back up opening my desk lamp, making sure not to wake her up. I quietly found my planner and opened it up.

February 26th.

I marked that day although I was sure that I wasn't about to forget any time soon. The first time that Skye called me 'Jemma' and not 'Simmons'. We made a lot of progress today.

Needless to say, I slept with a smile on my face.


	9. Making Peace

**AN: Please give thumbs up to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also a big thank you to all of you who read and support this story. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I had to practically drag Simmons out of bed the following morning, so much for sleeping early. But she was kind of forced to properly wake up after the third time that I corrected her stance. After that we had a blast, mainly me laughing at her as she tried to copy my movements and desperately failed to do so.

It was around 6 am when we decided to call it a day and head for some breakfast. Normally Simmons would eat around halfway my first training session, since she didn't have any early morning classes. But now that she was up, she could come with me as I grabbed something light before cardio.

I picked my bag with clothes for both of us, since my roommate didn't have any training clothing in her closet and started heading out.

That was when the door to the gym opened and Ward appeared there, blocking our exit. We locked eyes and I could sense Simmons holding her breath as she recalled who he was. His eyes darted from me to her and I instinctively stepped in front of my friend in a protective manner. "What do you want Ward?" I didn't even try to hide what my feelings towards his face were and my tone was filled with different emotions. The dominating ones being annoyance and hatred, having yet to forget our meeting in the woods. And here he was, sure enough to bring it up. So much for starting my day peacefully.

"Can we talk?", he simply asked. Not demanded, which made me rise an eyebrow.

"Okay…" I replied turning my body towards Simmons', but my eyes stayed glued to his for a while longer. "I'll see you at the canteen".

"Are you sure? I can stay if you want me to". Maybe some of my protectiveness was rubbing off on her.

I nodded, trying to show confident even if I didn't feel that way in the slightest. "Go, I'll meet you there". Thankfully she didn't object, took the bag from my hand and made her way to the exit. Ward stepped aside for her to exit the room and she looked at me one last time before I lost her from my sight. Ward closed the door behind him, which made me tense, but he was smart enough not to lock it.

"I just wanna talk" he said as he stepped away from the door and to the mats with his hands raised.

"I don't have anything to say to you" I said back biting my words. I tried to take a step towards the exit but he got closer to the door as well. "Fine" I told him when he made it clear that he wasn't gonna move. And I really didn't want to have a fight this early in the day. Couldn't he wait to get his ass kicked during our sparing sessions?

"I want to ask for a truce".

To say that his words took me by surprise would be an understatement. From the shock I even stumbled back a little bit, but quickly recomposed myself. "I'm listening" I said, curiosity evident in my voice.

"I know that you probably hate me and you have every right to do just that. I also know that the way I've treated you so far hasn't been fair and I am not going to make up any excuses for my actions. So, all I can ask for is a truce. I understand that asking for forgiveness may be a bit too much right now, but I would like to have that as well one day" I listened carefully until he finished.

Maybe it was some of Jemma's stupid positivity that was rubbing off on me this time, but I was actually considering his words. I mean, I didn't have anything to lose except for him trying to humiliate me. Nothing new, right?

"It doesn't have to do anything with what happened the other day, now does it? I don't want you to do this out of pity" I challenged.

"No, it has nothing to do with this. I just finally understood how you deserved none of what I gave you since you got here" he said confidently. A practised reply, but honest nonetheless.

"Fine, you'll have your truce. And you can have my forgiveness as well" I could see him relax a bit. "But…" and he tensed again, "…don't expect to have my respect. Respect is something that is earned, and you have all but done that".

I walked up to him and he tried hard not to step away as I extend my hand. Maybe he thought that I would strike him or something. But, why would I when I just told him that I forgave him?

"No hard feelings" I waited for his reaction. Upon hearing my words, he let a deep sigh and shook my hand.

"No hard feelings" he repeated with a smile, not as smug as his usual ones.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a breakfast to eat and a friend who's waiting for me" and without any other word I left him alone in the gym where I would meet him once again in less than an hour.

* * *

The news seemed to travel faster than I thought throughout the Academy. My rivalry with Ward was a well-known fact and everyone was very eager to learn more about. Who would have thought that in the Academy of Operations people would be so interested in gossip? We weren't the Academy of Communications for crying out loud.

So, when I arrived at the gym everyone else from our group already seemed to be there and discussing the new hot topic, our truce. Once I stepped into the gym no-one dared to speak. All eyes were on me and I felt like the newbie who knew nobody again. Davis, a guy that came a few months before me and who was destroyed by Ward on my first training session stepped forwards and all eyes were now on him.

"So, is it true? Did you ask from Ward to end the competition between the two of you?" I didn't see the second question coming at all. But I couldn't possible let people think that, not when it wasn't even true.

"First of all, there was never a competition in the first place. Not from my part, that is. No matter how you intercepted it, it was never a matter who was the best" I looked at every and each guy and girl in the room making sure they heard me loud and clear. I didn't spot Ward though… but I kept going. "And second of all–" I didn't get to finish before being interrupted.

"And second of all, I was the one who asked for a truce" Ward came and stood next to me, hands behind his back. Some went as far as to gasp a bit. "Skye is an exceptional cadet who deserves to be here as much as every single one of us. She is a great addition to our group and my behaviour so far was wrong" he looked at me. Something told me that he wanted to place a hand on my shoulder but was smart enough not to do as much.

"Now, agent Hill said that we are a family and I know for a fact that she has won the respect from most of you in this room. I also know that it was because of our disagreement that she never really became part of that family. But now that that's over, I think it's only proper to welcome her among our 'ranks'".

I watched as Ward took his place among the front of the others as they stood in lines, in the same order as the one we use for our training. Ward saluted and everyone seemed to copy him, not saying a thing.

I mimicked their moves and as soon as the little unofficial ceremony was finished everyone rushed to me and I was surrounded from every direction. I caught a glimpse of Hill in the door smiling broadly at me and nodding her head a little. I pleaded her with my eyes to start the training so that I would escape this, but she was having the time of her life.

After two excruciating minutes her voice echoed loudly in the room. "Everyone, get ready for warm-up".

No-one needed to be told twice. "Yes, ma'am" echoed similarly though the room from thirty-three combined voices, one of which was mine and for the first time I felt like I belonged there.


	10. Sister From Another Mister

**AN: Many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also, just to let you know that for the next for the next 2 weeks I will only upload one chapter per week, because I am going on a trip and will not be able to upload more. When things will go back to normal I will let you now. Until then...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

I had finished a very hard extraction mission and was exhausted. I fell on my bed, gear and everything still on, with a great desire to just close my eyes and sleep for a whole day. It mustn't have been more than half a minute since my eyelids were shut and I felt someone tapping my shoulder.

"Clint…" I said dead serious, "…if you want to keep your hand, I suggest you stop and step out of my room. Why don't you close the door while you're at it?"

"Can't do that darling" he said in between laughs. _Darling?_ I thought. Now that was interesting. I opened one eyes, looking at him up and down with an eyebrow always raised. "Look at the time" he pointed at the wall clock behind him, the one that he was hiding with his body.

I didn't even know where he got the energy from. I rolled my eyes and got up, peeking at the desired object. My lack of energy suddenly disappeared and I all but flew to the living room, opening my computer. Clint came after a while as I typed furiously in the device in front of me. I didn't even take my eyes off the screen as I addressed him.

"If you _ever_ call me 'darling' again, I'm gonna break your shooting hand" I said. "But thanks for the reminder" I added even though he knew both that I was joking and how grateful I was.

Once a month we had agreed to have an online video call with Skye through a line that she herself had secured, insisting that we should have a line for ourselves. So far, I had only missed it one time, when I was on a mission that Fury just _had_ to put me on. Of course, he had a piece of my mind afterwards and made sure to never put me on a mission that day of the month, at least until Skye finished her freshman year. The same went for Clint, since we were together at most of our missions so far and had made a promise to each other to never let the other forget this time.

A new window opened and soon Skye was sitting across from us.

"Hey Nat" she said looking at me. Then turned her eyes to Clint with a playful smile on her face. "Hi Old Guy, how you've been?"

Before I got a chance to reply, Clint yelled "Who do you call old, Kid?" I smacked him on the shoulder the moment his scream, which I was sure would cause me a head ache later on, reached my ears. "We're both fine, thanks for asking sweetie"

Skye's face seemed to come closer to the screen and her eye narrowed as she was examining something. "Is that blood on your face?" She finally said, her whole face beaming. "Oh! You were on a mission. What was it about?" I meaningfully looked at her and she sighed. "Let me guess, it's classified, isn't it?"

"How's May and AC?" She added soon after, quickly changing the topic of the conversation.

"They are both great. Safe and sound. Not on a mission or anything, so you could probably call them whenever you want" Clint wasn't even giving me the chance to be the one to reply.

I was quietly studying Skye's face from the sidelines. She obviously relaxed at the good news about her parent figures, but there was something in her eyes that I couldn't quite place. And even though I couldn't place where it came from, I knew that there was a reason behind that, probably unwilling, reaction.

"Clint?" I said interrupting him mid-sentenced as he had begun a completely different conversation with Skye. "Do you mind if I talked with Skye alone this time?" I could already see the rejection coming from him part, though we both knew that if I had set my mind on something, it was very hard for me not to accomplish it. He opened his mouth to say something but Skye talked before him.

"It's okay Hawk. Tell you what, next time you'll have all the time to yourself" she spoke knowing that he couldn't say no to that.

"Pinky promise?" Clint was heard and held his pinky in front of the screen. Skye grimaced not hiding her annoyance, making me laugh inside but didn't express it.

"I'm not twelve anymore Hawk" she complained but Clint was consistent on his opinion. "Fine" she exclaimed when she saw that he didn't back down. Raising her finger she replied, "Pinky promise".

Satisfied with his victory Clint got up and bowed dramatically at the screen. "Well then, I'll leave the two of you alone" and just like that he disappeared to his room.

Before Skye had the chance to say anything, I raised a finger shushing her and got up to head to my room. I didn't trust Clint to not overhear and we needed our privacy. Once I reached my personal sanctuary I locked the door behind and placed the computer on my desk, before grabbing a chair and sitting in from of the screen once more.

"What's wrong Nat?" I could see the concern written all over her.

"Nothing's wrong, Skye. I just wanted to make sure that you're all right. May and Phil said that you haven't called them for more than two weeks now and have declined their calls. They're worried, and to be honest, so am I. What's going on?"

"As you said Nat, nothing's wrong". I could see her face turn into that, all too familiar, mask. She had watched me as well as May do the same so many times in the past that it was only a matter of time before she mastered it herself. But she hadn't used it with me for over a year now. That's how I knew that she was lying, and something was, indeed, very wrong.

I didn't try to object with her, I knew her far too well for that. She would only shut down more and this was exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"You know that you can talk to me" not a question, she didn't need that right now. "I'm here and you know for a fact that I'm great at keeping secrets". That seemed to break through her and I knew I was in the right path. "You can ask me anything, little sis. If you want to I can even come by the Academy".

"No, no, no. Don't you dare come here" she spoke as if hit by lighting. "You know the rules very well. Very limited contact with people outside of the Academy and no visits during the first year. They don't want Ops to be homesick in case of a long undercover". At least her mask had broken. I laughed at her panicking expression and she pouted at me. "Not funny" she claimed.

"Yes, funny. I should have recorded that and have it for future blackmail" I playfully said, and she seemed to relax a bit more on her bed.

Even if silence was all around us, it didn't bother me. She would talk when she felt ready, not sooner.

"Can you promise that whatever I tell you will remain between us?" I nodded confidently. "No" she explained. "No-one can know, not Clint and _definitely_ not Coulson or May". This made me hesitate a little, but I knew that I would do anything for my little sister so I nodded once more.

She let out a deep sigh at that, obviously relieved by my answer. It warmed my heart knowing that she believed me without second-guessing, just as me being a person that she trusted. And based on what she had just asked me to do, I was seriously doubting her trusting anyone else. Not Clint, Phil or May and since she didn't have any friends in the Academy, I might as well be her fail safe. Just as mine was Clint when he saved me from my former life. This only made me more determined to not betray her trust.

"I think that May and Coulson are lying to me and I know for a fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. knows stuff about me that they didn't tell us when you found me. Things about my past" her words really confused me.

"Why do you think that?" I tried getting inside her head but really couldn't.

"I'm not sure yet. Not a hundred percent sure that is. But I have some clues that I'm gonna see where they lead to and if they check out. And I cannot trust them right now, the others I mean. Because if what I found out is true, then this creates more questions than answers".

I opened my mouth, but nothing sprung to mind. Things about her past? We've all been trying to find clues but every lead we had never actually lead anywhere and we soon run out of information to pursue. And what could this new info have to do anything with Phil and May?

"I know it's a lot to take in right now and I promise to tell you if I learn anything new. I'll try to speak to them…" she didn't even have to explain who she was referring to "…but can't make any promises. Maybe I'll try texting, I think it will be easier". Her eyes darted to where I assumed was her door and I heard the lock open.

"Sorry, have to go. My friend's back and we'll go for a walk. Talk to you soon, love you Nat".

And just like that the screen went dark.

"What happened in a month?!" I screamed to myself.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I could hear Simmons closing in on the room and reaching the door. I turned to Nat who was looking at me with a million questions and like I was crazy.

"Sorry, have to go. My friend's back and we'll go for a walk. Talk to you soon, love you Nat" I hurried to say before Simmons opened the door. The secure line was soon shut, and the computer turned off as my roommate stepped into the room.

I facepalmed once I realised what I had just told Natasha. Not the 'finding something about my past' part, I didn't go into specifics and was positive enough that she wouldn't say anything to anyone. I did have a lot more explaining to do, but it would be at least two months before I had to give her a proper answer, since next month I had promised to mostly talk to Clint and he wasn't gonna just let Natasha steal his moment.

No, what I was regretting was telling Natasha about my friend. Since I first said that word some three weeks ago, this word had become a more common one in my day-to-day vocabulary but I had yet to speak about Simmons to any of my 'family' members.

"What's wrong?" Simmons' voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back to reality. "Were you just talking to someone?" She continued and the lack of reply from my part only served to verify her assumption.

"Who was it?" She threw her stuff on her desk and practically jumped on my bed. I had never seen her so excited about anything before, and I _had_ seen her the day when they told her and Fitz that they would have Professor Franklin Hall in their second year.

"My… uh… my sister" I ended up answering and instantly regretted my choice of words.

Simmons' face lit up instantly. "I didn't know you had a sister" she exclaimed and I winced at how loud her voice was. I could also add the rest of the unspoken sentence that she didn't dare utter. _I don't really know anything about your family._

I sighed. I had made a promise to myself not to lie to Simmons. Maybe avoid the truth sometimes but not lie to her face. So, even if I knew that I would regret what I was going to say even more, it left my mouth before I had a chance to rethink it.

"I don't have a sister. But she is the closest thing to one" a half smile making its appearance.


	11. Dealing With Nightmares

**AN: As always I want to thank my Beta _MegaDiary123_ for correcting this chapter. I won't keep you long for the story. I just want to say that I got this review from a Guest who asked me not to stop this story. First of, thank you very much. Also, I find it very annoying when stories that I like stop in the middle of the plot with no explanation and I will try my best to finish this story for all of you who support it. Thank you for reading and feel free to PM or review.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

 _When I came into consciousness I found it very difficult to open my eyes. It was like my eyelashes were made out of lead. Breathing wasn't an easier task either. I slowly started making notice of the space around me. There was something under my nose and there was a beeping sound somewhere to my right. I tried to remember what happened, how I got there or even where I was, but everything was foggy._

 _Without meaning to, I started panicking. The beeping sound began to speed up rapidly, in accordance to the quick and shallow breaths that I was taking. I felt a hand grip my own and I wanted to flinch at the touch but felt too weak to do so. With great difficulty, I started opening my eyes, letting a bright white light hit my irises. I had to close and open my eyes a lot of times before I adjusted enough to the lighting of the room to be able to fully open them and keep them like that._

 _I looked around the unknown room. Nothing, absolutely nothing looked familiar and that made my panic only grow even further. My uneasiness lead me to take even shallower breaths, making a hissing sound._

 _Something squeezed my left hand and only then I remembered that someone was gripping it. I turned my head and was met with a red-head with wide eyes studying my face. I could see her lips moving, as if forming words but the sound seemed to escape my ears._

 _It took some time, but I started registering some sounds in the form of words and the soft voice of the woman seemed to calm me down a bit. But then there was another hand on my right shoulder and my head snapped to the direction of whoever was touching it. I didn't know where I found the energy, but I somehow managed to move slightly away from the Asian woman's hand._

 _"Why don't you leave this to me, May?" I turned once more and looked at the red-headed. She seemed to like my reaction and she smiled at me, though I never returned the gesture._

 _"I'll be right outside if you need me" the Asian woman, May, said and left the two of us alone._

 _"Hey, sweetie, can you hear me?", I nodded ever so slightly, but it was enough for her to understand. I felt more pressure in my hand, in her try to calm me down. "It's okay, you're safe. Everything is all right" the smile never leaving her face. "Try to match your breaths with mine, it will help you calm down" I heard her say after she figured that I was still upset. After several tries, the beeping sound was slowed down in a steady pattern. "That's it, you're okay" she said once more to reassure me._

 _"Can you tell me your name, sweetie?"_

 _I took some time to answer before a name came through the fog in my mind. "Skye" I said, and my voice came hoarse. I tried to understand how come and this happened, but couldn't think of a particular reason why that would be._

 _"Hey Skye, my name is Natasha. You can call me Nat to Tasha if you want" she moved her seat even closer to my head. She seemed nice. "Now, can you tell me what you remember?"_

 _What I remembered? Now that was a good question. I looked at her and searched her face as if that would give me some answers, any answers at all. But there was nothing. I blinked several times, my eyes moving from one place to another never focusing anywhere in particular as I tried to search in my mind for some clue as to what had happened. Or who I was, for that matter. Apart from my name every memory that I was getting close to catching seemed to slip right through my finger._

 _My mind was blank and couldn't remember a thing. I was coming up, completely, empty._

My eyes snapped open and I sat up on my bed. My chest was moving rapidly because of my uneven breaths. I moved my hand to wipe away the sweat that I knew had formed in my forehead. My hand briefly brushing at the scar on my left eyebrow. Finding myself unable to calm down, I knew that sleep wouldn't find me again anytime soon.

I opened my computer and checked the time. It was only 3 a.m.

I couldn't call Nat and I was sure not to gonna call any of the others, not yet at least. It was too soon, and I needed answers. I looked at the sleeping form curled up on the bed across from me. With a heavy sigh, I quietly changed into my workout clothes, picked up a bag and my water bottle and headed to the gym always careful not to wake Simmons up my bumping anywhere on my way out.

It was the fourth night in a row that I have had that nightmare. And I knew from experience that I would have it every day for another week, the least. The same happened every year, only for the last four years I had Natasha there with me. But since I was training to be an agent now, I didn't have that luxury.

My thoughts kept going on and on and I lost track of time. Tai Chi didn't seem to work that morning and I needed to let out some steam. So, the boxing bag that was in front of me had taken all of my anger and frustration.

I heard the door of the gym open and close. I didn't pay any attention to it until I heard it being locked. "Ward, leave. I'm not gonna say that a second time" my eyes never leaving the bag. I really didn't have the energy to deal with him and my state of mind wasn't the best one either. I didn't hear the steps when they closed in and only felt the presence of someone next to me when a hand landed on my shoulder.

It was pure reflex when I spun around, shoved the hand off me and made a move to kick Ward on the chest. However, before I knew what happened, I was pinned down, my head hitting the hard floor making me blink several times trying to understand what had just occurred.

"I am not Ward, Skye" a voice came from above me and I forced myself to focus on the face of the woman speaking. "You should really try to pay more attention to your surroundings no matter where you are or what you do".

I took the hand Hill extended my way and she helped me up. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'll keep that in mind" I said with a straight face to my teacher.

I moved to go back to the bag her hand found again its way on my shoulder. "You should stop. You've been up here for three hours already" her words make me take a step back. "What? This is an Academy for spies, do you think that I wouldn't know what's going on with my students?" She did have a point there. Without stopping she came closer and I had to force myself not to move further back. "Plus, Melinda May was my former S.O." she whispered to my ear and giggled when she stepped away.

"What do you know?", was the question that left my mouth before I even processed what I was asking. My eyes narrowed slightly, a habit I had taken up from Natasha.

"You see, I couldn't help but recognise some of your moves in the first couples of weeks of our training sessions. They seemed so familiar and yet I couldn't quite place where I had seen them before" she was slowly moving around me and stopped dead at her tracks right on my back. "And that's when it hit me, very early in a morning when I couldn't sleep and decided to come in observation room of the gym" her eyes pointing at the one-way glass wall of the room. "And that's when I saw you Tai Chi and the all the dots connected". Though her eyes were still looking there, I had no doubt that her full attention was on me.

"I know you hold back in my class" she started moving once again. "Having been trained not only by Melinda May, but Natasha Romanoff as well? People can only wish to be so lucky as you".

I could tell that she wanted to say more, but I couldn't help but answer back. "You call that me being _lucky_?" I snorted.

"But no matter how much of a ready agent you think you are on the field, there are other things that you learn here as well" she continued as if I never spoke."Things like espionage and manipulation that you need to learn and you know it. Not that much of the basic hacking skills that we teach, since you're an expert already at that" she just kept getting under my skin more and more. "So, here you are, acing the other lessons by giving them your all and holding back here, so that you won't be too far ahead of the others and stand out way too much".

"What do you want?" I changed the first question that I made to her.

"I want you not to hold back" she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And since your birthday is coming up I guess that you would need to punch something else other than a bag" she pointed to the beaten up boxing bag that would fall apart any moment now. "To _try_ and punch someone that can fight back and stand their ground against you".

The quiet challenge hanged on the air. I thought about it for a minute. The door was closed and locked, maybe there were other teachers looking through the glass, but I couldn't care at the moment, and she was right. I was holding back and I wanted to truly find out where I was with my training, because if I had not improved and word went out about it, Nat would have my head.

And, hell, who was I to disappoint Hill if she wanted to go toe-to-toe with me?

I looked at her with my endeavour changing to complete concentration. I hadn't really used that much concentration on the class, and the abrupt change made her take a step back. _Good,_ at least she knew I wasn't messing around. After she made it obvious that she wouldn't make the first move, I attacked.

I made a quick left jab, followed by a right kick aimed to her ribs. She swiftly grabbed my ankle, pulled me towards her and used her elbow to land a blow to my cheek. I could have blocked it but had a better idea in mind.

Once the elbow made contact with my face, I let my head fall closer to the ground. In one swift movement, and with my right leg still trapped at her ribcage, my hands touched the ground and I twisted as hard as I could. My hands were the only reason I wasn't falling to the ground and I used all the strength I could find to whirl around.

My left foot aimed for her head, but she managed to block it with her arm at the last moment. But the block didn't diminish my speed or strength and she was sent to the ground. She tried pulling me with her by keeping her hold on my ankle firm. But that only served to helping me stand on top of her. Unfortunately, this was one of the weakest positions I could be in.

Hill didn't let it go to waste and I was soon tackle to the ground. She was having me pinned down, chest on the ground and hand twisted in an unnatural way behind my back.

"Is that all you got?" She mocked me, whispering to my ear. "I was expecting more from you Skye".

"Who said that I was finished?" I managed to say through greeted teeth. She made the wrong move to loosen her grip on my hand slightly, and this was the mistake I was waiting for.

I lifted my head hard and hit her nose, making her stumbled back. I was on my feet at once. I had to get to her before she got her head back in the game. So, I run up to her, and started throwing punches and kicks. She wasn't an easy target to try and choke, so I would first have to tire her out.

We kept going like that, back and forth with both of us landing and receiving a fair amount of hits.

At one point I made a hook to her head and she ducked to dodge it. Her hands gripped my shoulders and was about to land a knee on my ribs, but I was faster. I grabbed the neck of her shirt, rolled backwards and kicked her straight to the chest and making her roll with me.

I had her pinned on the ground under me, with my fist raised ready for a blow to the head. But it never came. I was about to let my hand fall on my lap with the hand on her shirt relaxing when somehow her legs found their way around my neck, stopping every try for air to reach my lungs.

I tried getting out of her hold but couldn't find a way out. I saw black dots forming at the edges of my vision and I tapped her leg, making them unwrap. I gulped down mouthfuls of air but remained to the ground, sweat all over me.

"Not bad" she said while holding a hand out for me to take. I reluctantly did so and was on my feet once more. "But once I'm pinned you should try for the finishing blow. Why did you hesitate? Out there you won't have that luxury"

"You want full 'Mortal Kombat'?" I managed to say through my panting.

"I told you I didn't want you to hold back. You holding back won't do you any good" Hill said, her teaching tone evident once more.

"Honestly? I didn't wanna hurt you" she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Or at least _try_ to hurt you, ok? It hasn't been the best week and I'm constantly on the verge of…" I looked back at her trying to read her look and I got nothing "…I don't know" I concluded shaking my head. A statement which was kinda true.

"I know that this Sunday is a hard day on you. Also, I've watched you beat yourself up for the last few days since morning time. I'm guessing nightmares?" The look on my face must have said enough because she explained. "Once I figured that May trained you I contacted her. She told me some stuff that I should know and in exchange I'm telling her how you've been doing here. You don't talk much to her, do you?" When I didn't reply she just shook her head. "She is just worried, and because of that she informed me about the 27th of March. So, I'm ordering you to take the rest of the week off".

I opened my mouth to object but didn't even manage to from a sound before I was cut off. "No buts. It's not pity or an option you have a saying in. It's an _order_ , cadet Skye" her using 'cadet' caught me off guard and made her decision final. I went to grab my bag as Hill went to open the door.

She waited for me to pass her and she placed a hand on my shoulder. I brushed her hand off me and turned to look at her, not hardly just indifferent with a hint of irritation. Her sweet smile made me feel uneasy, as if exposed.

"You've worked very hard since the day you came here. Please, don't let it all go to waste because we both know you'll make a great agent and graduate earlier than usual. When I told you to rest, I meant it. It is important to let our bodies rest if we want to be physically and mentally in top shape and if you continue to tire yourself to sleep this will never happen" and just like that she left to the opposite side of where I was headed.

I was in my room soon after, my head a wild mess and with a great desire for sleep that I knew wouldn't come.

I had completely forgotten about the way I must have looked from the sparring with Hill, because when I walked in to find Simmons she gasped at me. She slowly came closer and placed a hand on a cut on my cheek and I involuntary flinched away.

Simmons' scolding face made its appearance and she all but dragged me to the bathroom we shared so that she would clean up my wounds. After deciding that she couldn't work with me being sweaty and all, she left me to take a shower and she said that she would patch me up later.

I could hear her through the door talking to Fitz and asking him to inform their teachers that she wouldn't be able to attend to today's lessons because she was feeling sick.

 _Wow,_ I thought to myself. Simmons is always following the rules, it makes her feel nice as she had mentioned more than once. She must have been really worried. I didn't even bother looking at the mirror before exiting the bathroom. I knew that I looked like shit because, honestly, I was feeling the same way.

I found Simmons on her bed, and with the first aid kit that she kept at the room open next to her. She was focusing so hard on finding whatever she was looking for that she made this really cute grimace with her face. When she turned to look at me all serious, I knew I was in trouble.

"What happened?" She started her questioning easy and I was sure that the questions would only get harder as time moved on.

"I might or might not had a sparring match without equipment against Hill? I know what you're gonna say but it was her idea" I protested before she even got the chance to reply. I sat next to her and she proceeded checking my now clean wounds.

"Why would Hill ask you to fight her? She's a full badged agent and you're just her student. And why would you spar with her so early in the morning? What happened to starting your day calmly with Tai Chi?" Her tone was a serious quiet. "Why do you have to hurt yourself?" She said, and the sound barely left her mouth, as if she was talking to herself. But I managed to catch it up.

"Tai Chi wasn't helping and I've been hitting the boxing bag for a few days now. Hill found out and thought that going against her would be better because no-one in my group is in my level yet".

"The few days that you've been having nightmares and have been avoiding me almost all day long?" Her tone made me feel ashamed, realising how hurt she was from my behaviour. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong, you know that, right?". Her eyes bore into mine, those brown pools full of emotion.

She made her way to my torso, which was more or less turning blue from the bruising. I could see her pleading me to go to Med Bay for a check, but I just shook my head. She was more than capable to treat my wounds and I didn't want word to get out about my injuries. "Well, a part of my problem is that my _birthday_ is coming up".

"And I'm guessing that's a bad thing?" She asked raising an eyebrow after hearing how much hate I put in the word.

"It's not really my birthday though…" I whispered, but made sure it was loud enough for Simmons to hear. She momentarily stopped bandaging my ribs, but continued her work as if she never paused.

"Is it like your sister isn't really your sister?", this comment should have taken me by surprise but I had long learned that she was a great listener and could see beyond the context of what was told. So, I just nodded, unable to form words. "When is your birthday?" Finally, the million dollar question was asked.

"The thing is, I don't know. All I know is that I don't remember who I was before 5 years ago".


	12. Memory Lane

**AN: _MegaDiary123_ was the Beta for this chapter, same as all the previous chapters. Nothing more to say this time. Without further due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Jemma's POV_

It was the fourth time in the row that I heard Skye wake up in the middle of the night, gasping for breath probably because of a nightmare that keeps coming back. She had yet to say a word about it and I had promised to myself not to pressure the issue. I knew that when she felt ready, she would come to me and talk about whatever it was that was bothering her.

I heard her leave and once again I couldn't get back to sleep. My mind was running wild as to what she might have been so terrified of that creates a reaction like that. But I had long learned that Skye carried her demons and no-one really knew how deep these scars went.

So, without having any better option, I opened my desk lamp and started working on my homework. I needed to keep myself busy so that I wouldn't be able to think in depth about anything else. Because I had woken up so early for half a week now, I had already finished every exercise that I was assigned for the next few days and had moved some chapter further in the Academy books. Thankfully, it had the desired result and I lost track of time. My trance only broke when I heard the door unlock. I instantly turned my head and was met with one of the most horrific things possible.

Skye's face had cuts and some bruises were already forming at her cheek. My eyes moved to her hands, which had blooded knuckles. If this was only an indication, then I wasn't sure what was going on with the rest of her body.

I slowly walked up to her and placed my hand on her cheek. She flinched from me when I accidentally touched a sensitive cut there. This was why I needed to properly wake up and take in the situation in front of me. I took the serious face, which Skye knew all too well that meant business and she wouldn't argue with me. I all but dragged her to the bathroom to try and clean her cuts with no success. She was so sweaty that I wasn't able to do a thing.

 _What the hell was she doing since she left the room? Run a freaking marathon?_ My thoughts a wild mess and I knew that this wouldn't help Skye. Instead I choose to order her to take a shower to clean up and went back to my bed to clean my head and figure out what to do.

I immediately called Fitz. I told him that I wasn't feeling good and that I wouldn't be able to attend to the lectures that day. It wasn't a complete lie. I hadn't properly slept for some days now because of Skye's night terrors and wouldn't be at a hundred percent. Not that I blamed Skye at all, only my own worry over what was keeping her awake was at fault here.

After that was settled I sat on my bed, took the first aid kit and started preparing bandages and everything that I could think of that would be of use to help my roommate. When I turned around she was out of the bathroom and looking at me with innocent eyes. She wasn't gonna get out of this mess so easily and she knew it all too well.

I made her sit down and started treating every bruise and cut I could find. Questioning her, not harshly but firmly enough so that she would know that I meant every word. She knew how worried I was, since I wasn't really good at hiding it and that was the push that she needed to open up even more. And then she told me that she didn't know when her birthday was or who she was in the past.

I finished wrapping the bandage on her ribs, which were so badly bruised that I made a mental note to go and see agent Maria Hill. This was an unacceptable behaviour for a teacher in an Academy such as this. I understood that this was basically a spy school and Skye wasn't going to be a scientist like me and she would be out there in the field but still. She would sometimes come back with a minor degree of sprain in a wrist or ankle but it was never this bad.

 _Jemma, focus._ I forced myself to get back in reality and look into Skye's eyes. I was thinking really hard to find the correct question to ask or comment to make, thankfully I didn't have to.

"I woke up one day, and didn't really know anything about myself. Who I was, how I ended up in a hospital bed or what the hell had happened. All I knew was my name, Skye". Her eyes had stopped focusing on anything particular as she was lost in the memories of the past. I could tell that it was hard for her to talk about this from the shaking of her hands. I gently wrapped my fingers around hers and squeezed them, letting her know that I was there, and that I wasn't going anywhere, giving her as much support as I could.

After inhaling a shaky breath she continued her story. "I woke up in a hospital bed, surrounded with people I didn't know. They said that I was found in a collapsed building and that I was the only one that they found in the debris. As you can imagine that wasn't really reassuring, considering that I was still very confused of what had happened" she smirked trying to joke a bit around to lighten up the mood.

"Anyhow, those people who I told you that found me? Well, as it turned out they were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, four of them to be precise. And, well, from that day on they kinda became my family" the smile that was on her face wasn't forced. It warmed my heart to see her happy about a memory in all this mess that she was describing. It was a very far-fetched story, I didn't deny that. But with all the secretiveness of Skye's life and all, it wasn't really hard to believe it. Plus, I was more sure than not that she hadn't lied to me once since we met. Hid things? Sure. That was her standard nature and tactic, but lie to me? I would like to believe that the answer was never.

"So yeah. We didn't have much to go from there on. They tried to find any information about me through my name, fingerprints, anything really, but we came up empty. So, as far as I'm concerned my life started on the 27th of March 2000" then she turned and her eyes focused on mine. "My _birthday_ , as some would like to call them".

This Sunday… no wonder she was having one hell of a week.

It took me a while to register everything that I had heard and put the answers that I got, as well as the questions that were created in order. My science and laboratory nature about wanting answers to unspoken questions and puzzles coming up fast.

The story was pretty much solid, but she kept a lot of things out. Like, who were the agents that found her, or how she learned hacking in such young age, or how she even finished school so early with no previous knowledge or memories of her studies. Then my mind went back to the nightmares that she was having. What could they possible be about? She must have seen this question coming long before because I didn't even have to phrase it before I got a reply.

"It's my first ever memory. Basically waking up with no memory to go back to or a past to seek comfort from" her hand moved involuntarily to one deep scar over her left eyebrow and I concluded that this was the, or a main, trauma that caused her amnesia. I averted my eyes from her scar back to her eyes hoping she didn't catch me staring. "Yeah, that's it basically" she laughed at that. "It must sound so foolish, but opening your eyes and knowing nothing is one of the scariest things I've been through". The tips of her mouth were still up, in a shy smile, as she rested her chin on her knees that she was now hugging.

"It's not foolish at all" was out of my mouth before I even registered it. How could she think that something like that was foolish?

"It's not?" She questioned, but never lifted her head from her knees. "I know people who have so much worse nightmares that make mine look like a kid's play. I can't help but feel it's stupid of me to get so scared of this memory that I know cannot change".

That took me back a bit. What she was describing was a feeling that I wish I will never have to know. Her life became a roller coaster since that day she woke up without knowing what had happened. I can only imagine what the rest of her life was up to the point when I met her. Her closeness and secretiveness suddenly making sense and I couldn't help but feel proud of her for allowing me into her inner circle of trustworthy people. This made my determination, to not let her think of herself as stupid, even greater.

"You listen to me" I told her firmly. My hands cupped her cheeks and turned her face so that she was looking at me dead in the eyes. "I don't know who these people that you're talking about see when they close their eyes, but I'm pretty scared just by listening to your story. You are not stupid and nothing you say is going to change my mind about it, okay? No matter how foolish you think something is, I will always be there for you to talk to".

I let go of her face and wrapped her in a one-arm hug. "You know I'll always be there for you as well, right?" She asked after a while, making me smirk.

Here she was again, being in one of the most emotionally fragile states I've found her in, yet still concerned about my well-being and having a shoulder to cry on in case I ever need to. "I do" I told her and relaxed my head on her shoulder.

" _So…_ " she stretched in a matter I knew she wanted a subject change. "Is there anything you wanna talk to me about?" I felt her face turn towards mine form how her shoulder shifted.

"How about how I somehow managed to convince Fitz that I am sick?"

She sat up more straighter, making me mimic her move. Now looking at her face I could she her eyebrows almost reach her hairline. "He actually bought it? You're such a _terrible_ liar!"


	13. Birthday Discoveries And Surprises

**AN: Hey there! Getting back on track I will post 2 chapters per week at least as promised. Hoping that I will not be hit with writers block that is. Anyhow, a thank you to all of you who support this story and continue reading it, as well as my Beta _MegaDiary123._**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

With no training and with Simmons having to go to classes the next day, I had decided to focus my attention on hacking. I mean, what other choice did I have? I still had at least three more days of having nothing in particular to do. And I was suspecting that if I even attempted to enter the gym, or run for more than thirty minutes, Hill would know and she would have my head. It was like she had eyes everywhere for crying out loud!

My hacking interest was evident from almost the time when I was found. Coulson, having finished the Academy of Communications wasn't really bad at hacking so when I asked him to teach me, he saw it as a bonding exercise and didn't even think about denying. The real reason why I wanted to start hacking, was so that I could help with the research about my past.

In the beginning we had started easy some time after he and the others took me in. It came pretty natural to me, hacking that is. This made me think that maybe before the accident I already knew how to hack, but I couldn't be sure.

Anyway, it wasn't really hard to exceed Coulson's hacking level quite quickly. Add this to the training that May and Natasha were giving me, as well as some instructions of how to handle a gun by Clint and it was only bound for me to end up in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.

So, with those thoughts in my mind and a really heavy schedule between training and homework, who had time for school? One of the first times that I really checked how good I had become in hacking, was when I hacked my way in the school system and skipped a few classes. May was furious once she found out what I had done and had, rightfully, blamed Coulson for teaching me in the first place. She was determined to have me properly finish High School in time, but when I told her that the classes that I was taught seemed easy either way she thought better about it. After a few tests, an IQ test and some more persuading from my part, I was allowed to skip the classes since it should have happened either way, hacking or not.

The price however, was a promise to not hack again in an official organisation or do anything illegal with these skills. I had given my word, though everyone knew that I wouldn't keep it. How was I supposed to develop my abilities without practise?

This is how I ended up hacking S.H.I.E.L.D. more often than not. I never went too deep, afraid that I would set an alarm or something and I really didn't want to get caught.

But then I came to the Academy. It could have been the lack of supervision from Coulson, or boredom or even stupidity but I thought why not look deeper into the organisation about me. I tried searching my name, but nothing came up. So, when that happened I went deeper and started crossing all my knowledge about who I was. So, after crossing reference after reference I ended up stumbling upon a redacted file about a girl named Mary Sue Poots.

It was a classified file about a female infant that was dropped off at the Saint Agnes Orphanage. The date that the infant was dropped off was covered in black, making it impossible for me to read, but the file was redacted on the 23rd of April 1989. Which, by the calculation we had done when I was found, was around the time when I was born. The name of the person that I would have to contact about more information was also in black. This whole situation looked really strange and suspicious to me, so I had to look more into it.

I started looking more into this "Mary Sue Poots" person. Not a lot of information was available but given that she was somehow was related to S.H.I.E.L.D., it was somewhat expected. All I could find was some information about the families that adopted her. But the information was still too little. Instead, I started looking more into the orphanage. My research kept growing bigger as the days turned into weeks and so, here I was, on a Sunday afternoon looking into this whole story once again. Trying to find anything that I might have missed. But I had made up my mind a few weeks ago.

I was this person, at least this is what all the evidence so far said. After all, every activity from that person seized to exist about the time that I was found in that broken down building. And this was the main reason why I wasn't sure whether or not I could trust May and Coulson anymore. I knew that they were high in the S.H.I.E.L.D. rankings, _levels_ as they were called. This is also the reason why Director Fury himself had helped with the investigation about my past.

So, this only led me think that they must have known about the redacted file. And since I was able to make the connection between this and me, they must have made the same connection, right? But if they knew, why wouldn't they tell me?

The door of the room opened but I didn't pay any attention to the sound. This was until my fingers were almost trapped between the screen of my laptop and its keyboard.

"What the hell Jemma?" I asked, still shocked from her sudden move. "If you break my fingers, I'm not paying the bill and I would really like seeing you try and explain to Maria Hill how this all played out". My computer was now safely switched off by my side, after I had saved all the work I had been doing all day of course.

"No more looking into your past today" Simmons exclaimed as if annoyed by what I had been doing. After I kind of explained my past I had, as well, let her know about the discovery of my identity. And she was very helpful, saying that she would help me figure out more and that if there was anything that she could do then all I had to do was ask. _What did I even do to deserve a friend like her?_ I thought to myself. "Besides…" she continued rambling and I had long stopped paying any attention to her. That was until she poked at my side, making me turn to her. "I wanted to give you this" she held out her arms and gave me a wrapped box.

I carefully took it in my hands and place it on my lap. I looked up to her and she nodded with this trademark smile of hers, to motivate me to open it up.

"I know we agreed that you didn't want to celebrate this day and I also know that you told me that every year you have trouble when it comes to this day". I was now holding the rectangular box and had ripped its lid off so that I could see what was inside. "I didn't have much to choose from, you know being a first-year and all. But I thought that when you feel like your past is holding you back or anything brings back bad memories, you can look at it and remember that there are always people here, willing to help you. Remember me" as she finished I had taken out the object she was talking about.

It was a mini hula girl, who was shaking with the slightest movement. She was holding a guitar, a smile was evident on her face and was wearing traditional Hawaiian clothes. She reminded me of Lilo from "Lilo and Stitch", one of my favourite movies so far. I hadn't reacted in any way since I opened my present and I could sense that Simmons only got more anxious.

So, I put the hula girl on my desk making her shake one more time. The smile on my face wasn't even something I tried to achieve and with that I looked back at Simmons once more. "Thanks Jemma. It means a lot".

Later that night, there was a light tremor that went through the facility. I wouldn't have known about it were it not for the hula girl who started shaking for no apparent reason. That made me wonder whether this had happened before, but eventually shrugged it off and went to sleep.


	14. Pins And Needles

**AN: Hey everyone. Say thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_ and also let me welcome all the new readers of this story. Without further due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I absolutely, and with great certainty, despised needles. I didn't only despise them, I _hated_ them. It was the only thing apart from flinching on physical touch that had stayed with me since the day I was found. Every time they poked my skin or even came close enough to do so, shivers would be sent through my entire body.

So here I was now, with a needle in my arm in Fitz's room. My fingers were firmly wrapped around Simmons' ones and I was pretty sure that I had full-out stopped the blood flow in her hand.

"Almost done" I heard Fitz's Scottish accent from my right. I had to give it to him, he was doing the best he could and in the least time possible, but it was still quite unpleasant for me. "Don't tell me its 'almost done'. Just tell me when its finished" I replied harshly, but not aggressively. I wasn't angry at him, but at the whole situation that I had gotten myself into.

I knew that with Simmons' help I would find out more about my past. Let's just call it a hunch. So, when she asked to get Fitz involved as well, I trusted her judgment and let her inform him about the situation and the research we were doing. He was an okay guy to be honest. Not too loud, with a good head on his shoulders despite his brilliance. And most of all he was a good friend to Simmons, so if she trusted him, then so would I. And this is about how we ended in his room. He, living on his own and without a roommate, had more space that we did. That's how his desk, wall, floor and… well basically his whole room had become something like our headquarters.

"Here, done" I felt the needle coming off and instantly used some cotton to pressure the point where this evil instrument had penetrated my arm. "That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" I heard him as he moved across the room and a smile was evident in his voice. I opened one of my shut eyes and pointedly looked at him making him shutter. "Er… m-m-maybe it was. How would I know?" This made a smirk appear on my face.

"I just don't like the feeling that I get when it comes to needles, s'all" with a small plaster I covered the 'wound' and flexed my fingers a few times just to make sure. "But to tell you the truth, you do have a very soft touch. It was the best blood-sucking experience I have had so far" I joked with a laugh, though it was true to the bone.

"How did you manage to get all this equipment here again?" I pulled my sleeve down and looked around the room to the various machines that were spread out all over.

"We have this _awesome_ course for the second semester which is all about…" Simmons turned to look at me unsure how to continue.

"…collecting biological data" Fitz finished for her and smiled kindly at my direction.

I could see Simmons silently thanking him for helping her out. "I'm not stupid you know! Just because I don't attend your classes doesn't mean that I cannot understand what you're talking about!" I said faking hurt. Both just turned around with one raised eyebrow each, challenging my statement. _Oh, no. They are gonna start all over again,_ I thought as they opened their mouths as if to fully analyse what the course was about. "Okay, I may not understand all of it but being with you, and _especially_ Jemma all those months has had an effect on me. Admit it, plus now that I think about it I don't really care for the specifics. By the way, why does Fitz know about this? Isn't he the engineer and you the biochemist? He wouldn't have _this_ course in his curriculum"

Although Fitz was in the other side of the room I could see his face become red and this was all the answer that was all I needed. But Simmons' explanation helped as well. "No, he doesn't. But he, being the sweetest and my best friend offered to help out" Fitz buried his face even further in his work. "Plus, we needed everything here, so we could work on our _mission_ ".

This is how Simmons was referring to the blood examination and the whole finding-more-about-my past quest. Her whole 'bad girl shenanigans' were lost somewhere along the way. I wasn't sure when that happened, but I wasn't sure that I minded this bit of anarchy from her either.

"Speaking of mission, I better do my part. I can't have you do all the work" I let Simmons go to Fitz and use their science voodoo or whatever to get the results we needed.

I went to the bed and opened my laptop, setting it on my lap. Typing fast I, of course, hacked into the surveillance system of the floor and kept watch just to make sure that we wouldn't have any unwanted surprises. Thankfully they didn't have any cameras inside the cadet rooms, and so I wouldn't have to erase anything since what we did inside the room was a secret.

The plan was for the two scientists to examine my blood and then run it through several systems to see if there was a match. Maybe somewhere there was some archive of Mary Sue Poots' blood and my suspicion would be verified. Though, deep down, I knew that my chances of such an archive were slim to none, given the nature of the whole research.

* * *

"For how much longer do I have to do this?" I said as I attacked the punching bag for the zillionth time. "I can see why May was your S.O. but this is the first time that we train together and on top of everything, I have the regular training for the Academy as well" through my rambling I never reduced the pace of my movement combination against the bag.

Hill just sat there next to me, legs crossed and timer in hand. "I wanna properly test your limits" she said. "Also, if you didn't want me to be your secret trainer then you shouldn't have said yes when I asked you" she momentarily raised her eyes to meet mine and just like that they were focused on the timer once again. "Your technique starts to break up. I think this will be all of this one for now" she pressed the timer and wrote the number down on a large form that was in front of her.

As soon as these words left her mouth, my hands rested on my knees and I started gulping down air. She threw me a bottle of water and I barely watched it before it hit my face. "How did I do?" I asked trying to peek at the time written down. The paper was quickly out of my reach or sight line. "Not fair. How am I gonna improve if I don't know my own time?"

"That's for me to decide. You know, being your trainer and all".

She moved to the door of the gym and unlocked it, signalising the end of our session. Since I was in the Academy and not a field agent to have a S.O. she was secretly training me starting from the week after our sparring. This was only the second time training with her, and I was already regretting my decision to accept her offer.

"Tomorrow you have a day-off from our training. Also, needless to say but I expect you to keep on being on top of all other classes. Should I learn that you slack somewhere else, consider this training over" and just like that she disappeared to the endless corridors.

Even since I learned about her relationship with May, I kept on finding more and more common traits between the two of them. How both of them were all serious, how someone would find them if they only wanted to be found and how they somehow always kept track of where I was. It was annoying to no end, but it reminded me of home.

 _Home._

I hadn't thought of the place that I lived away from here as home since the redacted file. And maybe it was the time apart or the lack of vocal communication from my part to Coulson and May, but I just realised that I considered it home. I considered _them_ home.

* * *

After a quick shower I found my way back to Fitz's room and opened the room with the spare key that I was provided. Given the whole nature of our research and our different timetables, we all knew the curriculums of each other and when it was time to gather to HQ.

Thanks to the technology provided by the Academy for Simmons' assignment I didn't have to hack my way to the Science and Tech servers to get the results of the blood test. I could see a blinking notification saying that everything was finished, but even if I opened the file I would most likely have no idea what it said. Instead, I decided waiting for Simmons was our best bet, because Fitz would have no idea what the results might mean either.

The idea of home was running wild in my head.

I tried everything. I put on my headphones and put on some music, hacked even further into S.H.I.E.L.D. just for the fan of it, re-crossed references on my research… but nothing seemed to help get rid of that though in my head or the aching feeling in my heart. I sighed and leaned back, hitting the back of my head on the wall a couple of times with no evident result.

I typed quickly and created a secure line that I made sure no-one from the Academy would trace. With my headphones on, I listened to the beeping sound as the call was made.

"Melinda May" the sound of her voice made me happier that I would like to admit.

"Hi Mel" that was a nickname she hated.

"Skye?" I heard her whisper not really expecting it to be me, her voice full of surprise. I just kept on taking deep breath, bracing myself for the conversation that I had decide we would have. My lack of reply seemed to wake her and the agent inside her made her appearance. "Skye, are you okay? Is everything all right?" She asked trying to assess the situation.

There was yet another pause from me. I could hear her intake a breath, indicating that she would say something else but I interrupted her before she could even form a word. "We need to talk".


	15. Phone Calls And Misunderstandings

**AN: Hello! Again, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123. Nothing else to say apart from..._**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _May's POV_

I had just gotten home from my coffee with Andrew. He was a really good guy and despite being a Phycologist for S.H.I.E.L.D. he had never, not once, tried to read me. This respect for boundaries made me respect him more as well, plus we had a great time together.

When I got home, I walked into Skye's room just for a minute, to make sure that she didn't come to surprise me, just like I did every day since she left. Thought I pretty much doubted something like that would happen.

When she started at the Academy I could tell that she didn't really like it there. Not making lots of friends so she would often text me or Natasha to chat. For as far as I knew nothing had changed, apart from when she suddenly stopped talking to me. Not only to me, but to Phil as well. She would keep in touch with Natasha mostly, and Clint sometimes, but there was a long period when I had no idea what was going on in her life. So as every reasonable mother I called Maria who I knew was her training instructor. She kept me informed of her progress so far, but she started making more often updates just for my sake and I was very glad for that small move of kindness.

I was considering myself a mother to a lot of people, even though I didn't have children of my own. Clint was mostly like Phil's kid and then came Natasha, who I mostly took in but she was more attached to Clint. But later on Skye came into the picture.

I still remember the fear in her 11-year-old eyes when she woke up in the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital. Everyone came together so that she would have as much of a normal life as possible. I would never have thought that I would see the hard and stone-cold Natasha care for someone so much, but I was pleasantly mistaken. Skye came into our lives and like a glue put us all together. With that being said, her not speaking to me brought a pain in my chest, since I didn't even know what had happened to cause her to go completely radio-silent on me.

Even her birthday came up and she had made no move to contact me. I had thought more than a few times to call her, but I knew first hand what the Academy experience was like. So, apart from the reports that I got form Maria I wasn't really a big part of her life at this time period. I was proud to say that I managed to convince Maria, maybe threatened a little as well, to take up Skye as a personal training student.

I had made my way to the kitchen and had started preparing myself a cup of tea when my work phone rang.

"Melinda May" I answered and mixed some herbs to the boiling water in my cup.

"Hi Mel". No-one dared called me that but one person.

"Skye?" My voice was barely coming out and I almost dropped the phone in surprise. I didn't hear any reply and that only made my conviction for who I was speaking to firmer. I could hear her trying to control her breath making me wonder what was going on.

 _Why did she call now? Did something happen?_ These and several more thoughts flashed through my mind in a matter of second. The lack of knowledge was killing me and so I had to break the silence that had enfolded us. "Skye, are you okay? Is everything all right?" She was still not answering, and it was driving me crazy. I could hear my heart beating hard against my chest and my pulse was on my ears.

I was about to say something more but thankfully Skye spoke. "We need to talk".

My eyes grew a little at how broken her voice sounded. I made my way to the living room and sat on the couch, something told me that I needed to be sitting down for this talk. The tea was long forgotten of the table in another room completely.

"Okay. What do we need to talk about?" I felt completely out of my depth and the conversation hadn't even started yet. I could hear her take deep breaths yet again, as if to prepare herself. Or maybe try to. Or persuade herself to talk to me, given how long she had to reach out. "I'm here" I simply told her. "I'm here". It was a reassurance, three simply words that she knew that were true and that would still be this way no matter what she told me. "I'm not going anywhere". For some reason this made her slightly choke and I imagined her holding back tears.

"You know, you're making it really hard to be mad at you guys" she finally said with a laugh.

"It's my job to make it hard on you" a smile was now playing on my face and when I heard her laugh a bit I knew I was in the right road. "But why would you be mad at us?" I didn't even need to as who 'us' was.

"Because you knew about my past and didn't tell me?"

It might have been said as a question, but it was anything but that. It was a statement that she believed full-heartedly. It caught me by surprise. I hadn't heard her voice be so true about something for a long time. Since she told us that she was gonna be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to be precise.

"And why would you think that?" My voice never rising, but instead kept in a low tone all the time just as I used to talk to her when she was home.

That's when every information she had gather started pouring out of her mouth. I just listened as she told me about the redacted files, about Mary Sue Poots, about how she had concluded that she was her and how now she was having some blood samples examined. And then the whole reason why she'd been avoiding us for more than a month now.

"I'm not mad that I found what I found. What I'm angry about is that you must have known, you must have known and kept this a secret from me. Because if I, one person, managed to make the connections, then Fury who is the director of this whole organisation must have known as well. And we both know that he never keeps anything from Phil, after all he is his second in command and his 'one good eye' as Fury, _himself_ , had said. And if Phil knew, then there is no way that you didn't know because we both know that he can never keep a secret from you".

She paused long enough to know that she was finished and so I took my time to digest the information that I had just been bombarded with.

All she had said made sense. And no matter how much I wanted to tell her that she must have been mistaken I couldn't. I had to admit that she had made one hell of a research and it all made sense. I was annoyed with her hacking into the organisation, but I could see it from her point of view. And with me having broken some rules myself along with Phil, I couldn't reprimand her too much.

But I honestly didn't know anything about it and neither did Phil, because as Skye said, he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret even if he wanted to. So, what I had to do now was try and convince her that I truly had no idea of this in the past.

"You know that I would never keep anything like this from you, right? And Phil, well, he is the kindest guy that I have ever met and he has a soft spot for you. He would never lie to you about anything, and much more about something so important" I could hear her mumble and be ready to say something back but I prevented her. "No, you said your part so now you have to sit and listen to me".

My voice didn't leave any space for disagreement. I could almost hear her gulp as my 'mother voice', as Skye called it, made its way to the surface. "I promise to you that we haven't hidden anything from you. Every little bit of intel we had, you were told as well, no matter how small or big. So, don't you go around and find stuff and then blame us because we didn't find them before you. You can– _no._ You _will_ send Phil those files and we will continue your research. I will have Phil ask Fury about that redacted file and we will get to the bottom of this, I _promise._ But, you have to promise me that you will stop prying this whole situation. Once we have an update, _any_ update you will be the first to know. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, crystal clear" he answer barely a sound but enough to reach my ears.

I eased back into the couch allowing myself to relax for the first time since I received the call. I knew that she wasn't really okay with this, but she knew that it was now out of her control. And I truly thought that she believed me and that she didn't blame us anymore.

I would have a long and very serious conversation with Phil the moment Skye hang up.

"Good" I didn't even hide the satisfaction from my voice. "Now tell me your news, we haven't properly talked for a while now"

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I closed the top of my computer, completely and utterly exhausted by my conversation with May.

"You can come in now" I said and, not even five-seconds later, FitzSimmons came in. "Thanks guys" I said as the door closed behind them and Simmons silently moved to see the results from the blood exams. I had heard them a few minutes ago as they came closer but didn't come in when they realised I was taking to someone, giving me some space and privacy. And in case I had any doubts, the feeds from the cameras outside the room verified my suspicions.

Fitz came and sat next to me, not too close but not too far either. "It's okay. I get it. Plus, I know that you would do the same for me, or for Simmons at least" he added his gaze always on the girl across from us.

I clapped my hands hard, making Fitz jump on his seat by the sudden sound. "Let's get over with the typical part so that I can use the samples to try and find any matches" I said but I could see Simmons still glued to her place, holding the results. "Come on, Jemma, just tell me that everything's all right so that we can move on" I said placing a hand on her shoulder.

She was upset, troubled even and more jumpy than usual.

"Earth to Jemma" I said waving my hand in front of her eyes. She blinked a couple of times before focusing on my face. Her mouth a firm line, slightly downwards to a frown which was something I saw for the first time on her.

And I had to say that it made me uneasy seeing her like that.

"Hey, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"No" I saw that answer coming to be honest. But still, it was troubling.

"Hey, Jemma, focus" I brought myself in front of her and gripped her shoulders, trying to get her full attention. When her hazel eyes met mine, all I saw was confusion, questions and a hint of fear. "Are you okay?" I asked fully alert now.

"I'm okay, _you're_ not". Well, now I was the one who got confused.


	16. Let's Shake Things Up A Bit

**AN: Good day everyone. As always, I wanna thank my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also, feel free to review or PM me if you want to. Without further due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

There was a strange feeling crossing over me when Simmons said that I was not actually fine. I wanted to laugh, I really did. But as much as I wanted to believe that she was joking and lying, I couldn't. First of all, the look in her eyes was genuine and even if she tried to create it on purpose, she was a _terrible_ liar.

I looked back at Fitz who had the same perplex expression as me because he had no idea what she meant.

"Can you explain what's wrong?" I asked trying to figure out a way to get inside that big brain of hers.

Her face was still more pale than her normal white skin and she _did_ gulp at my question, but she seemed more grounded than before. _What the hell had scared her so badly?_ "I run the normal examination, you know the basics and of course nothing was wrong there. You are perfectly healthy as far as anyone who looks only that deep is concerned" she said and framing her thoughts seemed to calm her down a little.

"I guess you looked even deeper?" I propped her to continued.

"Yeah, I applied what we learned at the course right now. I, basically, separated your DNA and then mapped it using gel electrophoresis. But at the same time–".

"Jemma, please. In English" I interrupted her since I could see the begging of a rambling clear in the air.

I saw the corners of her mouth title up slightly and some of that laugh reached her eyes. Even thought it was only a small part, I called that a success. "I went deeper than just blood test and looked into your DNA and yours looks completely different from how a normal person would look like. Its like, it re-arranged itself containing extra macromolecules. If I hadn't had the results in my hand, I wouldn't think that's even possible".

I could feel the colour drain from my own face this time as she continued speaking. I managed to get most of what she said and that was enough. "That's…" I was at loss of words, "…interesting".

"It's not just interesting, it if full on strange! We know that this is not a disease since no-one you have come in touch was affected, so we have no idea what that means at all. It is like, a whole new discovery!" She kept on talking and talking with no sign of stopping.

I had backed up to the only clean corner of the room and just sat there bringing my knees to my chest and wrapped my hands around them. I had stopped listening to what she was talking about, a long time ago. My mind suddenly clicked, realising what this could mean and how someone would use it if they found out about this peculiarity. "We need to burn it" I lifted my head and looked at the two scientists. "Maybe not literally apart from that piece of paper in your hand, the rest of the data I can erase from existence if I hack into the equipment".

All sounds stopped immediately in the room. Both set of eyes were trained on me, one with understanding and the other without.

"We can't! This is major breakthrough. We need to learn more about why that is or how it happened" Simmons was fast to say. "As a scientist I have a duty to the rest of the world, to help learn about this extraordinary discovery" she continued and my gaze was fixed on Fitz who had not spoken a word.

"You called me strange" I may have been looking at Fitz but Simmons knew I was talking to her. "If you, who know me, thinks like that then what will happen if other people find out".

"Oh, Skye. I didn't mean it like that, you know it. It is just… not ordinary" she tried to reassure me.

"No, you said that if you hadn't seen the results or done the examination yourself you wouldn't believe them. That _you_ , the smartest person that I know, didn't think of it as possible. And we are in an Academy where they look for the out-of-the-ordinary. If someone outside of this room gets those results, then I bet that Skye will not be staying here any longer. She could be _experimented on,_ and we need to protect her from that because she is our friend" Fitz came to my rescue.

I watched silently at the gaze battle between the two of them were having as they seemed able to read one another's thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity to me, Simmons sighed and handed the papers to Fitz who quickly gathered all other paper with results on and put them on his bin.

After all the work that we had been working on for the last couple of days was destroyed all three of us went to the maintenance or the Sci and Tech bar that was hidden from the other Academies. Simmons and Fitz found a group of people from their year and they got into their conversation. I was itching to release all this build up energy and I really needed to get out.

"Jemma, I'm gonna head to the gym". I could see the question-marks all over her face and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am fine really, just need to punch something. Don't wait up for me" and without another word I disappeared.

The gym was empty, something that didn't surprise me. It was around 11 pm when I arrived there either way. I needed the gym's equipment, but I needed the privacy as well. So, when I entered the room I locked the door behind me and opened my computer to enter the camera feeds from the observation room behind the one-way glass. Once I made sure no-one was there, I went to the punching bag and places the laptop next to me, so that I could always check in case someone, or Hill more specifically, came to observe.

I let my frustrations on the bag. With my mind lost on its own world I didn't really realise when the room started to shake, or when the buzzing feeling that had crawled its way on my hands became more and more apparent.

The information that I got some hours ago flashed through my mind and my punching became harder. Until one punch connected to the bag and sent a sock wave that threw the bag on the other side of the room. It went flying across the room hitting the wall hard and leaving a small crack there, before it fell on the floor.

I looked at my trembling hands and trembling room as the buzzing feeling increased even more.

I focus my breathing as May had taught me, focus to a single point and let everything else become noise in the background. Thankfully the shaking stopped soon after. The shaking on my hands though hadn't diminished in the slightest.

I managed a deep breath, grabbed my laptop and started typing. All the video feeds from when I was in the room suddenly disappeared and were replaced by empty gym hours. I quickly left and got back to my room. It was well past midnight now and Simmons was already fast asleep. The buzzing feeling never left my hands for the whole night as I laid awake on my bed and I had a feeling that it would never truly disappear.


	17. Let's Get Down To Business

**AN: Hi to everyone. Please thank _MegaDiary123_ for being an awesome Beta for this story. Without further due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Tell me why you have to leave again?" I heard Simmons say for the third time since I started packing my bag.

"It's an off-campus training camp. I don't have much of a choice really" I turned and looked at her as I zipped the now fully packed bag. "Trust me, I would much rather stay here with you but I don't get a say in the matter. The only one to skip this camp is Ward and that is because he will be gone in a few days for his undercover mission" it was obvious that she wanted to keep on rambling, so I had to put a stop to it somehow. "Look, it's only for a month. I will be back before you can say 'manscaping'".

The beginning of a smile tried to make its way before she smothered it, letting me know that she wasn't really mad at me for leaving. "A month is too long!" She exclaimed and threw her hands in the air to put more emphasis into her words.

"But we can talk every day if you want to" I answered back. I had an answer ready for every possible excuse or statement that she could make. Mostly since she was using the same lines over and over again for the last week. "You know that even if the rules say 'no contact with anyone outside the camp' I can easily do so without them knowing" I winked and got up from my bed.

As Simmons realised that this was me actually leaving she wrapped herself around me in a bone-crushing hug. "Promise?" She asked, her tone soft and pleading to put emphasis in her need for my agreement.

 _I would promise anything to you Jemma,_ I thought to myself. "Promise".

She seemed to relax a bit at that, but soon tensed again. She pulled away and went to my nightstand. My face was the term of confusion as she seemed to inspect something. Then she turned and looked at me. I could read that she was hurt all over her, since she wore her heart on her sleeve.

"What?"

"Why is this still here?" She asked and picked the object of interest and shoved it to my hands. I looked down as the hula girl danced from the sudden movement. I lifted my gaze, looking back at Simmons and I could almost out make what she was thinking. _Why didn't you pack it as well? Is this how much this meant to you?_

"Oh, no Jemma" I quickly said before she got the chance to think more. Her quick and uncontrollable thinking could get out of hand too fast for my liking. "It means the world to me, honestly. I just thought that you would like to keep it safe for me until I get back." I could still see that she was hesitant and the raised eyebrow helped verify my suspicions. "Look, I know that no matter what I tell you, you're gonna miss me. So… I thought that if you had _this…_ " I said as I pointed to the shaking girl, "…then maybe you could look at it and not feel the distance between us that much".

The smile that appeared on her face warmed my heart in an instant. She let out a quiet breath, almost like a sigh, and came closer, placing her hands on top of mine. She pushed the object of debate further to my chest but still held my hands firmly.

"You keep it. I have plenty of your stuff here. It is, after all, _our_ room. That way if I do miss you, which I will, I have half a room that reminds me of you. That's why you will take it with you, so that I'll have a way of knowing that there is something near you that reminds you of me" her tone was soft yet serious, leaving no room for arguments.

I unzipped the bag to place the hula girl in. Once that was over, I threw the bag over my shoulder and headed for the door. "I'll call you as soon as I can" I said and left the room.

* * *

This was the training camp that got most of the Operations cadets cut. Every year, this one month would be the last glimpse of S.H.I.E.L.D. that many would have. And because what occurred during the camp would, immediately after its finish, become well known, every year they would come up with new and more complex exercises.

I was really glad for all the training that I had done with Natasha and May before I started at the Academy. If I hadn't, I would probably be on the floor trying to catch my breath, just as a lot of the other cadets were.

The whole facility was somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Like, there was only one road, which we took to come here, and other than that the only view one could have, was trees. Endless rows of trees going as far as the eye could reach. It was probably one of the most remote places I had ever seen. And my daily life for the past, almost three weeks, was pretty much the same. The 24 hours were filled with different kinds of exercises and a lot of running, the most running I had ever done in my entire life.

It was right after this 45-minute jog after a very intense strength training that Hill called out to me. "Skye! Come here!" She screamed and waited for me to reach her. All the others from my group had left and it was just the two of us among the trunks.

"Yes ma'am?" I said with my back straight and my hands wrapped behind my back.

"At ease, Skye. How's the training going so far? I guess you are having more fun than at the Academy?" Her tone casual, as always, but I could see her eyes studying my face. I wasn't sure why though, and it made me feel exposed in front of her.

"It's more challenging. I like it" I replied honestly. Her eyes were still on me and I had to fight with myself not to fidget on the spot.

"Good, that's good" her gazed fell down as she moved her hands and only then did I notice the folder that she was holding all this time. She raised it to my chest and I took it, reading the bold, capital, red letters on its cover. "Classified? What is this?" I asked as I looked at her for permission to open it and read its contents and she nodded to me.

"This is O'Brien. He came into possession of an 0-8-4 weapon that was stolen from us years ago. We were informed that he is going to sell this weapon to the highest bitter in less than a week. S.H.I.E.L.D. is assembling a team to infiltrate and recover the weapon, without making ourselves known. I requested that you participate on this team, so that you can properly see how things work outside the Academy" she finished and I was left looking at her like an idiot.

"I- I- I am not sure this would be the best idea" I said trying to find the proper words to express my thought.

Hill raised an eyebrow at that. "Care to elaborate? I am doing this for you. Other cadets would kill for a chance like this one and you dare to doubt an idea of mine?"

It was hard not to gulp at the tone of her voice. "I never meant to disrespect you. And I am sure that you thought this as thoroughly as you possible could. But if you want my opinion on the matter it is this. This O'Brien guy seems trouble. The fact that he holds a 0-8-4 is a threat on its own and this operation is too important for the team to have a not full-badged and with hands-on-experience agent among them. You've been training me to make decisions like that, and even if it's against me, I believe that there are better agents suited for this mission".

A silence enfolded us that seemed to stretch out to infinity. My gaze never left hers, showing the confidence that I had behind my words. Her laughing took me completely by surprise. My face was full of surprise as her giggles kept going and she patted my shoulder in an appraising way.

"I knew I made the right choice" the smile on her face never truly disappearing. "That is exactly what I was expecting and wanted to hear from you to know that you are ready. The fact that you put so much thought into it tells me that there is no way you're gonna screw this up. And, don't worry, you're gonna run back end and won't see first-hand action but it will be a worthy experience. Now go get your stuff. You're leaving to meet the team in an hour". Doing her trademark move, she walked away without leaving me any chances to talk back or say anything else.

* * *

It was an approximate 3-hour ride from the training camp to the safe house. Hill had come with me but once we reached the door she insisted that I cross it first. This confused me a little bit, but still did as was told, only with my guard up.

The safe house was pretty much a cabin the woods, not much of an upgrade from the training camp facility in that aspect, and it was pretty simple. It was a one store house in a country style, seemingly made completely out of wood. The majority of the space was occupied by the living room, which had a couple of couches and just as many arm chairs, all of which appeared to be new.

My attention was later captured by the back of three heads that were sitting at one of the couches and were observing something in an up-to-date technologically television. As soon as I stepped into the room, the wooden floor creaked and all three agents turned to look in my direction alarmed. Before I got the chance to analyse any of their faces the door behind me shut and I sharply turned to look at Hill blocking the exit. She had a triumph smirk on her face that I couldn't quite place where it came from or where it was leading.

Shaking my head, and my thoughts with it, I turned back to look at the other members of the team that I would be part in for this mission.

My whole vision became tunnel like once I spotted the small, black-haired asian woman who had all but raised me since the day she found me.

"May?"


	18. Beginner's Luck

**AN: Hey guys, I have an announcement to make. I am a bit behind on schedule as far as the chapters are concerned... Also, I know how I want the story to continue, I just don't know how to execute my thoughts on the plot yet resulting in a lot of planning and writing from my part. So, next week I will upload only once (on Saturday) and hopefully we will continue with 2cpw from the following week. Please thank my Beta _MegaDiary123_ for this chapter and I will talk to you all in a week.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"May?"

Her form moved from behind the couch and she came to stand in front of me. From the corner of my eye I spotted the other two agents who had yet to move, not surprised by my question. Good, they were briefed over our relationship.

"Hello Skye" May's warm voice reached me with an indescribable desire to hug her. True, I had distanced myself for the past couple of months but ever since I explained the reason for my actions she had been so helpful on finding out more about my past. We talked more often than we ever did before and she was always very keen on knowing what was going on in my life. Ever since the training camp had begun we hadn't really had the chance to properly chat and it was like a dream seeing her in flesh standing there.

I could see that all she wanted was to hug me as well, but she contained herself. I had to remind myself that this was not appropriate and we would be working together for the time being. Maybe when we would be left alone we would have more freedom to talk and relax in the presence of one another.

I could see her eyes analysing my face, trying to guess what my next move would be. "You forgot to introduce me to the rest of the team" I simply told her, relaxing the muscles in my body that had unintentionally tensed.

She sighed with the corners of her mouth titling up as she giggled ever so slightly. This made a smile appear on my face as well. She came around and placed a hand on my back, pushing me a little towards the other members who were just looking at us. "Maria told me that you just got the assignment, we have to properly brief you".

* * *

 _Hill's POV_

Just as she was asked and was expected, Skye was running back end in this operation. Given her history with hacking she got the role of monitoring the comms, the cameras and basically scanning anything and everything that she could get her hands on about the place that was to be infiltrated. And, just as expected, I was in the same van as her, driving through the dark streets.

Not long after we were parked in an even darker alley. I had made sure that we would be close enough to the place we were to raid so that Skye would be able to connect to the servers, but far enough so that we wouldn't be easily spotted or not at all. And given the mission, I highly doubted we would be seen. Once I had pulled the handbrake I climbed back and sat next to the young girl whose eyes were glued to the monitors in front of her. She was so focused and I could feel the anxiety coming off of her in waves that it brought back a lot of memories from how I was in my first ever assignment with Melinda as an S.O.

"What do you see?" I asked after picking up my set of headphones that was just lying around waiting to be used. Maybe asking her for a progress report would relax her a bit, since she wouldn't keep everything inside.

She raised a finger and pointed to one of the screen to her right that had the camera feeds from the well-guarded estate. "This is the place where the 0-8-4 is kept. The dance that O'Brien hosts serves as a good distraction and has me looking all over for potential threats as they could be hiding everywhere. The face-recognition software helps though" was her reply as she continued typing fast. "There are no cameras that show the 0-8-4 directly and so I have to monitor the ones that appear to be closer to it. That, however, leaves the team hanging as to what traps may await for them as soon as they pass the door" she indicated a different feed that was focused on a metal door.

 _Of course and there isn't any camera that shows the 0-8-4,_ I thought to myself but didn't share my thoughts with Skye. She was tense all over and she didn't need my help to be even more so.

"There isn't much that you can do in cases like these" my voice echoed in the closed and tiny back of the van. "All you can do is keep yourself focused and alert them as soon as something seems out of place. Anything really. This is why I am here as well, I am kinda like your S.O. after all" I told her but it was obvious that my words entered from one ear and exited from the other without being truly processed or just registered.

I sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder which made her jump out of her skin. "Relax Skye" I said as I squeezed my hand. "You are doing great. And whatever happens behind this door, I am sure that May will be able to handle it".

Not knowing what else to tell her I sat back on my seat and let out a breath. I saw the oh-so-familiar May breathing exercises being executed by the girl as she tried to let some of the tension go.

"You're right" she finally said after a long pause. _Of course I am right,_ I refrained from replying just as I fought not to role my eyes. "May can handle anything". It was obvious from her tone that she believed that sentence wholeheartedly, and it was something that the many years that I had spent with May had led me believing the same thing.

The minutes went by as I watched her keep switching between the screens and resumed checking the camera feeds and several lines of coding that she had written in order to bypass their security. Knowing about where she was coming from I could definitely see the people that affected her in the way that she acted.

I remembered Melinda's deadly seriousness in every case that we had met, and I could totally see a similarity in a mission-mode Skye. Clint's funny remarks were something that one could easily see in Skye if she decided to open herself up. And her closeness and lack of attachment was a trademark of Romanoff's. And then Coulson, well, he was responsible for her hacking so there was that.

As my thoughts kept running wild, the time for the actual mission came and May with agent Hart went in the ball. Agent Woo was in a nearby rooftop, riffle at hand just for the formalities, since we weren't really expecting any emergencies to come up.

And, as expected, the operation went smoothly. Honestly speaking, I highly doubted that Skye would make any mistake when it came to hacking or when it came to a situation where Melinda was involved. She shut down the systems to help our agents get into the mystery room and get the 0-8-4. After the systems came back up, most of the security near the weapon was either unconscious or on the floor trying to understand what just hit them and S.H.I.E.L.D. was long gone.

But no matter the success, Skye was still on her toes the whole time, with her whole focus and energy spent on checking whether or not she missed anything or if something seemed out of place. Wanting her to relax once again, I placed a hand on her shoulder. She was startled once more and I made a mental note for her future training to have her pay better attention on her surroundings, just like before the sparring that we had some days before her birthday. This girl could get so lost in her mind that she could shut the whole world out if she wanted to. It was a very useful skill, but not during a mission.

I couldn't help it, I began laughing as she pushed my hand off her shoulder and refocused on the screens. The pout on her face just made me laugh even harder. Then her face turned all serious though I could clearly see that she was enjoying the whole situation. "Oh, don't be like that!" I playfully hit her in the same shoulder and eased back onto my seat.

Once she finished her work, she turned towards me with her hands crossed over her chest. An eyebrow was raised in a silent question that was too clear for me to miss out. _Why is this so funny to you?_ Well, if she wanted an answer who was I not to deliver?

"You know that I was like that as well when it was my first mission with May?" The thought that was running in my head since the beginning of this mission finally out in the open. True, I called her Melinda since the history that we had together and all, but with Skye here I found it proper to use her surname. If I didn't she would definitely not let it slide and I didn't want to be the one to explain to Melinda why Skye suddenly started calling her the same.

I could see a light in her eyes once I told her about my mission with Melinda. Probably she didn't know a lot about the Asian's time as a S.O. so I was expecting a question related to this topic. However, for my surprise, it was quite a different one.

"You know your mood swings are kind of creepy right?".

Oh, that was interesting. I could truly hid the smile that went even broaden on my face or my whole body going up and doing in a failing attempt to suppress a laugh. "Please…" I said drugging the word more than necessary, "…continue". I knew my tone was playful and was glad to see her relax onto her car seat a bit more.

"Your personality is like a complete 180 from when we are at the academy. Plus, you are all serious in one moment and in the next you can be laughing for the most stupid reason ever". I didn't know where she found the courage to actually say all that, but I was glad that she was feeling secure enough with me as to express her thoughts in such a way. So I had to return the favour of her opening up and answer honestly.

"In the Academy it's different. I am a teacher there, an instructor. Here, today, I am just your S.O. and the one role compared to the other is completely different. I can be formal when I want and informal just the same. There is a lot you don't know about me, Skye, just as there is a lot that I don't know about you". Her eyebrows nearly reached her hairline at my latest statement and I raised my hands in a manner of surrender. "Fine, fine… guilty. I do know most things about you but this is only because of the clearance and my role as a trainer. But still, I don't really know _you_. I only know what is written in your file" I was now leaning in my chair, my elbows rested on my knees as they supported my whole upper-body weight. "But that's not who you are" I continued as I pointed to her chest. "You decide who you are and I would really like to know who you have decided to be". As I finished, I still had the corners of my mouth titled up, just as I did during the whole duration of my monologue, despite the seriousness of my words.

It was time for me to do something other than sitting and staring at Skye and so I got up and motioned her to follow me to the front of the van as I started the engine to get out of that alley.

"See…" she started talking while lowering herself down on the co-driver's seat "…you just say stuff so serious out of the blue and I am never sure what to expect next". Well, since I truly believe that she would pass the true meaning of this mission there was no harm in leaving clues, was there?

"Oh, don't worry. You will see more of me in the next years, you know, me being your S.O. and all".

"I thought that you couldn't have a S.O. until you graduated or for the last couple of years while in the Academy?" She asked quite unsure.

I knew that her roommate was a girl, Jemma Simmons if I was right, from Science and Technology and she probably got confused as to why they have S.O. so early on and why we, in Operations, don't.

"Well, this is how it usually works in Operations. We can't have each cadet assigned to a S.O. since a lot of people don't make it that far. But if someone wants to be a Specialist, then a S.O. is assigned to them during their stay at the Academy. Take Grant Ward for example, his S.O. is Garrett and he has been in that position for… three years I think" my eyes never leaving the road as I was explaining how the system worked.

"Yeah, that's all good but I am barely finishing my first year. When you said earlier that you are my S.O. I thought you were joking. I am guessing you are not?" She asked as the moving lights from the sides of the road seemed to relax her even more.

"I guess not, but you will find out more soon enough" I was smiling, something that I didn't even try to hide from my voice

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

The rest of the ride to the meeting point after our talk was enveloped in a welcoming silence that neither Hill nor I dared to break. It was about twenty minutes later when the car parked and not far after when another two vehicles followed suit and stopped right beside us.

I stayed in the back with Hill, listening as the other three agents from our team arrange the transfer for the 0-8-4 and briefly talked about what would follow. I watched as the team dispersed and May came closer to where Hill and I were.

"Hey Maria, mind if I drive Skye back? We have some things we need to talk about" she plainly said as she stopped a few feet away from us. I could see Hill hesitate as if she shouldn't, and probably that was the case, but one more firm look from May had her sighing in no time.

"Fine, but you will have to explain about the report she should fill in after the mission and all the paperwork. I know you don't like talking about these stuff, you _hate_ paperwork, but if I am gonna leave you two alone you might as well do me a favour in return".

"I trained you too good, you know that? Fine, I will explain everything. Will meet you back at the safe house" May said dismissing Hill with a wave of her hand though she couldn't hide the playfulness from leaking in to her tone.

Once all the others were out of site May closed the few feet that kept us apart rapidly and had me in one bone crushing hug. My hands were now wrapped tightly around her torso as I returned the gesture with all my strength. I had not realised how much I had missed talking to her until I told her about finding out about my past and I hadn't realised how much I missed her hugs until that moment. How much I had missed all of my family.

"You have a lot of explaining to do" May whispered in my ear, never once moving away. "I know. I will" I replied back and then she made a move to step away. I could see her eyes scanning properly over my form since she hadn't really seen me for several months now. "You lost weight" she said in a matter-of-fact tone and I was really glad for her not judging. Then her finger touched my hair "And you let them grow".

"Well, you know my relationship with my hair. They were always long and I never thought of cutting them, it would be too drastic of a change… you look good" I finally said, not really sure how to reply. She looked the same as she did the last time I saw her, maybe a little more tired, but I knew she wouldn't want me to mention it. "How are the others?"

We went into the car and turned the engine on as we got ready to take off towards the safe house. "Everyone is fine really. Natasha and Clint have been in more missions these past few months than they had in the past and Coulson is doing what he was doing before. Meaning he is basically being Fury's boyfriend and they are attached to the hip. They all miss you"

"I know they do. I miss you guys as well, but you know how it is with the Academy, you've been through it yourself" I said but the side look that I got from May before she focused back on the road made me raise my hands in a surrendering manner. "Fine, fine. It may or may not have been my fault that we stopped talking for some time but you have to understand my point of view". I relaxed back into the seat of the black SUV as I let a long sigh come off. "Did you find anything new? Did Fury say anything?"

I could see from the corner of my eye May fidgeting on her seat and I knew that she had learned something. But I also knew that she wasn't going to lie to me, not after how I had withdrawn within myself when I thought that they were hiding information.

"I did have Coulson ask Fury information about the redacted file that you sent over" she started and my head turned slowly at her direction when she paused. It was obvious that she was trying to find a way to bring up this matter as smoothly as possible and this didn't really help reassure me about what was found out.

My eyes were trained at May as her attention was on the road, though I could see from the far away look that she had, that her mind was in a whole other world. Not the safest thing to do when one is driving, but I wasn't brave enough to tell her that or sure that there would be a similar situation to learn about what she had found out. So, my gaze turned to the dark road ahead just to make sure but as expected we were the only ones on the road, no other car lights were seen anywhere.

We weren't going that fast, given May's lack of attention on the road. The speed, or the lack of it in this case, was something that I was grateful for until we were about in the middle of a crossroad. Where there were no cars, suddenly headlights shined too bright from my left and I could hear a car picking up speed rapidly.

"May, _look out_!" I screamed as I bent over to turn the wheel in a useless try to change the direction of the vehicle to avoid the hit, but my luck seemed to run short.

The unknown car crashed onto us in the back part of our vehicle and we were send spinning for what seemed like forever. The only reason why I wasn't sent flying out of the car was the seatbelt that I was wearing, but this didn't prevent my head from hitting the widow hard before everything went black.


	19. Waking Up

**AN: REALLY SORRY! Things happened yesterday and I completely forgot to upload! Really sorry guys, will try not to let it happen again. Just like before, thank my Beta _MegaDiary123_ for editing this ch. and I hope you will enjoy it. (PS: This is s a bit of an interlude chapter so there isn't a lot of action, but it will come in the following ones).**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

The first thing that I realised when I woke up was the excruciating pain that run through my head. It felt as if I was hit by a truck. A groan escaped my lips as I tried to lift my head and the pain just multiplied.

"So, the sleeping beauty finally decides to join us" I hear a voice but I don't really pay any attention to it. I still try to piece out what had happened. I stay like that, head on my chest as I was sitting somewhere with my hands tied to the arms of the chair and my eyes closed. Not long after I heard footsteps, a hand gripped my chin hard and harshly lifted it up, making my head spin. "You will look at me when I am talking to you" the same guy stated as he tapped my cheek a few times until I finally managed to actually open my eyes without everything being too bright or spinning around.

"That's more like it" he let go of my chin and walked back to where another chair was placed a few meters away.

I wasn't really sure what had happened. The last thing that I remembered was driving back to the safe house with May. We were talking and I asked what Fury had said about the redacted file and then… and then there was a car coming speeding right at us.

 _So, it wasn't an accident,_ I thought to myself as my gaze went around the room trying to assess the situation that I had found myself in. _Remember our training,_ my subconscious pointed out and what we had learned in the Academy for cases of interrogation came flashing through my mind.

First I looked around. I was in a room that looked like a basement, the only reason why it wasn't pitch black were the lights that were turned on, on the roof. It was a pretty dirty place, as if not used in a long time and though there was plenty of space, the only pieces of furniture were the chairs upon which my captor and I were sitting. And then there was my captor. Now that I could see without feeling like I just exited a roller coaster, I took in his face and characteristics. One name popped up when I realised who I was sitting across from.

O'Brien.

"Oh, so you know who I am" I heard him say.

 _Shit!_ I must have shown emotion when matched the face of the files, which I had learned by heart, with the person in front of me. But I wouldn't make the same mistake again. Quickly Natasha's mask appeared on my face as I got rid of any emotion shown upon it.

He seemed to study me, trying to read me. For what seemed like hours to me, he just sat there, piercing me with his eyes. Finally, _finally,_ he gave up and with a sigh he got up. "Well, at least I won't have to introduce myself, _Skye_ " his watchful eyes never leaving my face, waiting to see my reaction to him knowing my name.

"I guess the introductions are over then?" It was more of a statement that I made, rather than a question. "What do you want?" I asked after a long period of simple silence.

He smiled at that question. A sickening smile to be honest. It was like this was the question he was waiting for and his whole world lit up suddenly. "Well, it's pretty simple really. I want my weapon back" he came closer and crunched right in front of me so that he would be at my eye level.

"Well, it's not that simple really" I couldn't help the remark. "I mean, I would love to give you your weapon back, the problem is that I have no idea what you are talking about". That earned me a punch on the face. My head bounced on the right when his fist connected to my left cheek. The world started spinning once again but thankfully stopped sooner than last time. Though I did have to blink a few times to refocus.

Apparently I needed more time than he was willing to give me and so he grabbed my chin, turned my face and looked my head over. His hand went to my right temple where he touched my skin and I flinched violently from his hand as if he had just used fire. "Well, it seems that the crash did more damage than intended. So, why don't you just answer my questions and we won't have to do this the hard way?"

"See, the only problem is I am already answering your questions" that earned me a slap this time, since he figured that he didn't have to put much force into the hits to make them painful for me. "As I said…" I repeated between gritted teeth "…I have no idea what you are talking about, we don't steal weapons, we just take back what's ours. So unless you ask the proper questions, I can't help you".

"Oh, so you _are_ from S.H.I.E.L.D." he said with his eyes lighting up. "Probably shouldn't have let that slip out" he said as if disappointed by my revelation.

"Oh, please. Like you didn't know who I am working for, you already knew my name. This was no news for you" I said knowing that my words were true. O'Brien was good enough to steal an 0-8-4 from S.H.I.E.L.D. and get away with it for a long time, there was no way that he hadn't done his research, given his knowledge of my name.

When I finished talking he rose to his feet. "You think you are smart, huh? How do you think that I found you? You are the rookie of the team that was sent to 'retrieve', as you call it, your precious weapon. So, you would of course run the back end of the operation. What are you, sixteen right? And based on how S.H.I.E.L.D. works, then you were the one to hack into my system and this must have been your first assignment. I am guessing you are still at the Academy and good enough to be in an operation so young.

"But you are not as good as you think you are. I knew for sure that my attempt to sell the weapon wouldn't go unnoticed and so I had prepared a small surprise for whoever tried to hack into my system. So when you shut down everything, a tracking virus was released to your coding allowing me to track you back" he had a sick smirk on his face, clearly proud of what he had accomplished.

I made sure not to show any emotion on my face as he spoke and when he revealed that it was my fault that I got into this situation. "I can clearly see that you have some stuff to think about. Don't worry I will be back" he finished as he exited the room, turning off the lights and leaving me in the dark with my thoughts.

And as he suggested, that was exactly what I did. I started tracing back to the whole operation trying to figure where and when my coding slacked. And at the same, my mind was running wild for two other things. One of them being a discovery of an escape plan, should I be able to escape before S.H.I.E.L.D. came to the rescue, and the second being May. She was in the accident with me, but I had no idea what state she was in and she was the one to take the main blow from the crash.


	20. Not All Fun And Games

**AN: Hi guys! I know its a few hours later than usual, but I managed to keep it in the same day this time. Please thank my Beta _MegaDiary123_ without whom I wouldn't have come so far. Thank you for keeping on reading this story.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _May's POV_

I woke up with a searing pain going through my ribs. I tried to take a breath, but with the inhale the pain grew bigger and I couldn't prevent the hiss that escaped through my greeted teeth.

"Melinda, take it easy" I heard Maria's voice as she placed a hand on my shoulder, holding me in place and not allowing me to sit up. "How are you feeling?" She continued when I relaxed back to the bed that I was lying onto.

"Could be better" I answered. "My ribs hurt, but I'll live" I continued honestly because for some unknown reason Maria could always tell when I was lying. My eyes were now open as I was looking around the place. We were back to the safe house. "How is Skye?" My first and foremost concern at the moment was her.

Maria sighed and I snapped my eyes at her direction. This was not a good sing. "What happened?" I all but demand from my former trainee. My gaze steeled at her lack of instant reply and when I made a move to get up she seemed to regain some composure and pressed me back down on the mattress. I shot her a look full of anger for her inability to answer my question as well as trying to make me not leave the bed. _Wanna try that again Hill?_ My eyes were asking her and the tone went across to the woman.

"What happened was that something went wrong with the plan. I should be asking _you_ what happened. You were supposed to see the car coming, manoeuvre to avoid the crash, take cover and then let the agents capture both of you. But for some reason the car hit you full force and you never avoided it, resulting in both you and Skye getting injured in the process. _So,_ should I ask what happened or are you not going to tell me anyway?"

One thought passed my mind during Maria's words. _Shit._ She was right, this was all my fault. I knew that I wouldn't really get to talk with Skye and the initial plan was for Maria to drive her back while we planned the whole scheme, however I really needed to talk to her and I took Maria's place in the SUV.

"Is Skye okay?" I asked in return, never answering the question that I got from the younger agent. And she had spent long enough time with me as her S.O. to know that I wasn't going to answer unless I wanted to.

All she could do was release a breath and sit back on her chair as she allowed me to slowly sit up. My right hand went automatically to my aching left side as I positioned myself better on the pillow that I was previously lying my head on. "Skye is fine, all things considered" I heard her voice as she gave me a computer that was previously sitting on the night table. "She has a wound on the right side of her face and some bruises here and there. Before you ask, it is nothing serious, both of you were really lucky".

I saw Skye tied up in a chair, with agent O'Brien across from her. "She just woke up a few moments ago but given the training exercise we couldn't give her any medical attention, and neither to you if you haven't figured out as much yet" Maria kept talking but I zoned out her words as I focused on the girl that I had as a daughter.

Thinking that the cause for Skye's pain was nothing else other than my fault didn't really help. "Is she in the basement?" I finally got the question out, though I already knew the answer.

"Yeah, we had the room prepared for the interrogation" we watched as O'Brien got up and left Skye alone in the room. "She will be fine Melinda, you know that this girl is as tough as nails".

"Look who is up!" O'Brien's voice echoed through the room as he opened the door to the room. "Really sorry for the accident May. I didn't mean to hit you and your girl so hard" he said as he passed me a glass of water and only then did I realise how dry my throat was. I waved him off, meaning that there were no hard feelings. "How are you holding up?".

"Great. Haven't been better" I said in a rush, an almost automated answer for when people asked me about my health. I never wanted to burden them with my injuries. "When will I go down?" I asked in return. Anxious about my role in the whole play.

The man eyed me carefully. "I will leave Skye alone for a couple more hours. She was pretty shaken up with the head injury, nothing too serious I assure you. But I am guessing she will be really tired and will doze off sooner than later, this is when I'll go down again. We have to be convincing, don't we?" I slowly got up and stretched to see how painful it would be to move around. Or to be tied up in a chair across from Skye in the hours to come. "Then after showing her a few of my 'information extracting' tactics, I will introduce you to the picture. Sorry in advance for what it is to come".

I focused back on the computer screen where Skye was sitting on the chair, seemingly lost in her own mind and I was wondering what kind of thoughts were running through her head at the moment.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I must have dozed off because in one moment I was thinking hard about what went wrong with my coding and in the next I wake up from a bucket of water being thrown directly to my face. I looked around frankly, in an attempt to get my bearings back together and realise what had just happened.

"I think I gave you quite enough alone time, don't you agree?" O'Brien stated as he placed the, now empty, bucket of water on the ground. "It's time for you to answer my questions" he said and for some reason his tone seemed much more different than it did before. It was somehow more determined and I realised that this was when the 'party' was about to begin.

"Where is the weapon?" He was now in front of me.

I had two choices in that situation. Be silent, or react somehow to what he was saying. I chose the latter and without putting much though behind the action, I spitted in his face. "You are delusional if you think you are gonna take any information from me" I told him with the most serious voice that I could master at the moment while he was cleaning his face up.

"I was hoping you were gonna say that" and with that I got what must have been one of his most full-force punches that he could possible give.

The hit was so hard that I was left disoriented and in immense pain for a very long time. My head was throbbing and my eyes were shut because whenever I opened them the world would spin around too much for my liking. I faintly heard the sound of a knife and felt the ropes that held me to the chair being cut. I tried my best to attack or at least defend myself for what I was thinking was gonna be one hell of a beat up, but all I managed was to get thrown on the hard floor. As I was lying there, I tried to pick myself up and managed to get as far as I could on my hands and knees but I didn't have the time to celebrate my achievement, as it was immediately followed by a hard kick on my ribs that made me roll a few times and left me breathless.

As I was trying to catch my breath my hands were tied in front of me, in a metal chain this time, and were secured to a hook. I saw my captor leave from my field of vision and tried to get up only for a machine's sound to fill the room and me being yanked on my feet and off the floor.

 _Where the hell did this machine even come from?_ I cursed internally as the whole hook-hanging-off-the-ceiling situation had escaped my assessment of the room in my initial scan and I wasn't prepared for something like that.

"Did you rethink you last statement?" He questioned clearly enjoying the whole situation. Where did that psychopath even come from? Though he should be a psychopath considering that he stole an 0-8-4 from S.H.I.E.L.D. and tried to get away with it.

 _Focus!_ I scolded myself. I had to focus at the moment and not let my mind wonder around and start doing its usual speculations and just run wild. There were matters that needed to be taken care off of more importance.

He took my silence as an answer and he started his workout/torture. I wasn't sure which of the two he considered he was doing since he was using my ribs mainly, but the rest of my body wasn't left unscratched, as a punching bag. Though he did leave the head alone for most of the time his fists came my way. But I guessed this was because he didn't want me to pass out so soon, but from how he was going I wasn't sure that this desire of his would last for very long.

Despite the pain that I was in, I was proud of myself that I hadn't said anything in the minutes or hours, truly I had lost track of time, that he was continuing asking questions about the location of the weapon. At some point he changed and started asking general info about S.H.I.E.L.D. and I wasn't sure whether his true propose was to find out where we stored the weapon or if he wanted intel about the organisation that I was gonna work for one day. The things closer to words that I got out was the grunts that couldn't help but escaped my lips without my permission.

My head was slummed to my chest and my fingers grew numb for the amount of time that they were left hanging over my head. Actually, my whole body was pretty much numb itself and I had stopped registering the increasing amount of hits that it was receiving.

I could faintly hear him say something in the lines of 'change of tactics' before I heard the door of the room close. I was coming in and out of consciousness and knew that this wasn't a really good sign for the state I was in. It must have been in one of the moments when I was out of it when a second bucket of water was thrown on me, startling me and I was hanging centimetres above the ground and my feet subconsciously made an attempt to kick O'Brien but with the lack of ground to support her it must have been pretty pathetic.

"Careful, she kicks!" I could hear his stupid laugh echo through the small place as I locked my eyes with his. "I'm glad I haven't broken you yet kiddo, because trust me, I will" he moved aside and only then did I realise that I wasn't alone in the room with him anymore.

No, he had brought May with him this time and she was tied up and knocked out in the chair that I was occupying before I found myself hovering over the ground.


	21. Not According To Plan

**AN: Hey everyone! First of, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also many thanks to everyone who has left a review. I hope you like this chapter. Even more, I am going on some vacation next week and so I am not sure what my internet connection will be like. So I will upload the next chapter on Tuesday and then if I can I will try next Saturday but I am not sure. Will try my best to upload and without further due... **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Waiting for May to wake up was one of the hardest things I had to do. I couldn't go near her, because of my restrains, and no matter how many times I tried calling her name nothing seemed to change. So, after changing among 'May', 'Melinda' and even 'Mel' a handful of times I eventually gave up and waited, staring at her sleeping form just to reassure myself that she was breathing and was alive.

Time seemed infinite for me in this holding room, and with no sun or clock inside I had easily lost track of time. I had not even the slightest idea of how many hours it was since the accident. Or even days for that matter since I had absolutely no clue for how long I was knocked out due to the head injury I had collected from the crash.

My thoughts were cut short when I heard a groan from across the room.

"May" the word escaped my lips before I even registered it. She seemed dazed as she woke up and it took her some time to register her surroundings. "Hey, hey Mel look at me" the nickname that only I used came out but thankfully all she did was snap her eyes to my direction. I let out a sigh once I saw her looking at me and her eyes were clear and she seemed superficially fine. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I could see her irises widen once she focused on my form. I must have been quite the sight for sore eyes. "I am fine" she replied though I could hear the strain in her voice.

"This is not the time to be brave Mel" I told her all serious.

She let out a small laugh, titling one side of her mouth up in a half-smile. The laugh though made her flinch and that got me only more worried. "Just some bruised ribs, nothing serious" she answered honestly. I was really grateful that I wouldn't have to pressure her anymore to find out about her health status. "You on the other hand… how are you feeling? Where does it hurt more?"

Not 'where does it hurt', but 'where does it hurt _more_ '. I guess I wouldn't want to look at myself in a mirror.

"My head is generally pounding with the slightest movement" I began and then truly focused on my injuries. So far, I had tried avoiding thinking of them and keeping my mind on other matters but it was important to know in what state I was truly in. And as I focused, all the pain came crushing in. I realised my wheezing every time I took a breath. "At least bruised, if not cracked ribs. Have no idea how many tho–"

"Well, I would say about one on your left side and two on your right" O'Brien interrupted as he came in the room. May visibly tensed at his presence, though I wasn't sure if it was his presence or the information that she had just gotten. "Now that I let you catch up a little bit, should we continue?" He finished as his fist contacted with my torso, leaving me breathless.

* * *

 _May's POV_

I knew that this was supposed to be a realistic exercise of an interrogation, but this was too much. They had blocked me from the computer even since agent O'Brien returned to the room after the first time Skye woke up and so I had no idea what to expect when I was to be introduced to the scenario.

I woke up to a bloody Skye, with cuts all over her face that must have come from punches, and who had trouble breathing probably because of a similar cause. And for her to breath in that way… well, let's just say that I wasn't very keen to seeing how her torso looked beneath her soaked t-shirt. And all I could do was sit tied in a chair as she became a punching bag for the agent that I would definitely have a chat with once we met back at the Hub. More often than not I would tense on my seat and fidget trying to find a way to get out of the ropes that tied my hands and feet on the chair. True, I was supposed to look uncomfortable with what was happening and stuff, but it was really easy and most of the times I didn't have to pretend.

"Where is it?" O'Brien asked for what must have been the millionth time, always referring to the '0-8-4' that never truly existed. Well, as we did with all items of unknown origin it would probably be on its way to the Fridge by now and this was the answer that he would be looking for. But I couldn't give him that info, so all I did was tightly close my mouth. "Looks like I will have to change tactics again" and with that he delivered a powerful punch on Skye's face that knocked her out and her head was now hanging limply on her chest.

"Skye!" I screamed and moved on the chair but my restrains held me down. I just watched as O'Brien walked out of the room, brought in a bucket full of water and then walked to the machine that held Skye off the ground. He must have switched it off, because Skye's body just fell hard on the ground. I wasn't sure that even if she was conscious she would be able to keep herself up straight since she was hanging for far too long.

The man walked to Skye and grabbed her, dragging her across the room and dropping her once again next to the bucket of water. Then realisation hit me.

Waterboarding.

I looked towards the only camera that observed us in the far corner of the room. Well hidden in the shadows so that Skye wouldn't notice it, but I knew where it was placed. I imagined Maria on the other side and my eyes begged for this not to continue any further.

She had proved that she wouldn't say anything for fuck's say! My eyes darted back to O'Brien who was looking at me as well. "You don't have to do this" I told him, not saying anything else in the slightest chance that Skye could hear us. Though I was highly doubting that she could.

"Tell me what I want to know, and I won't have to" he said with a smirk. Oh, I was so gonna enjoy breaking him to pieces should anyone leave the two of us alone in a room. But for now, I couldn't do or say anything. "That's what I thought" and just like that he grabbed Skye from the back of the neck and dived her head in and under the water in the bucket.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

After all the beating that I had sustained in the last more-than-couple hours, my body finally shut down on its own allowing me to surrender to the darkness where it was quiet and peaceful. Though of course that wouldn't last for lost. It seemed like seconds to me when I was receiving a hit on the cheek from O'Brien and then I woke with my lungs screaming for air.

I thrusted my body in a try to get out of the water that my head was in but something, or rather someone, was holding me from the neck pressuring me even further down the water with my resistance. As I felt like my lungs were on fire and there were dots appearing in the edges of my vision, the cruel hand eventually released its hold and my body jerked up and out of the liquid. I was curled on the side, eyes tightly shut and water pouring out of my mouth as I was trying to swallow mouthfuls of air. I couldn't really register anything other than the wheezing sound of my breathing and the endless water that was coming off of my lungs. I mean, how did so much water even found its way down my throat?

It could have been seconds or minutes at best when I started faintly hearing a reassuring "Breath Skye… breath, that's it". I highly doubted that it would be more time than that since I guessed my captor would not allow more before the next round of what appeared to be waterboarding was about to begin.

The voice kept on trying to make me breath properly, but it was so hard and my throat was hurting. A second voice intervened and it was clear that O'Brien was asking for May to answer his questions. I had long figured that he had stopped trying to make me talk and had focused on May.

If he had found information about my name and status in the Academy, then I had no doubt that he knew about what May's skill were as well and had probably figured that breaking her through seer force wouldn't work very effectively. So, he was trying to exhaust her mentally by beating the living shit out of me and making her watch, helpless to come to my aid. Maybe then he would pick up on forcing intel out of her. What I did not know though, was whether he had also learned about our relationship or if he was focusing on me because I was the young agent in this case.

But whichever the case, I was determined to take all of the punches if it meant that May would come unhurt out of this. I slightly opened my eyes and saw that O'Brien was in May's face, whose eyes snapped at mine once she realised that I was watching her.

I could see her desire to take my pain away. She was full-out cursing to O'Brien and this worried me to be honest. So far, she had kept a quiet front and this sudden change meant that her resolve to withhold information and watching me getting hurt was running out. There were small signs like these that the man appeared to notice as well and he was wearing his trademark smirk, that I so much wanted to rip off his ugly face.

"Don't you dare Mel" I said, and my voice came out rough. Using the nickname that only I dared pronounce definitely got both of their attentions as all the talks stopped. I smiled with my teeth probably being a bloody mess, not that I cared. "I can take it, so don't you dare say a thing when I am the one getting beat up".

"You've never been on _Mel's_ end, have you? Watching someone you love getting hurt and being able to stop it if only you answer a couple of questions? You are cognitive enough to ask her not to say anything, so why don't we change that?" And with that a fist rooted itself deeply on May's already bruised ribs making her cough hard.

"Hey! Stop!" I screamed and made a move to get up on my unsteady feet. No sooner had I managed to actually stand when O'Brien's foot hit me straight to the chest sending me on my back, making me take a few moments before I am able to catch my breath again.

I didn't know whether it was my tiredness, my desire to protect May or both but I could feel an all familiar buzzing feeling crawling itself all the way down my arms. The memory of what had occurred to the Academy's gym the last time that I had this feeling flashed through my mind and I tried to surpass the unsettling feeling.

I was slowly finding my way back on my feet and at the same time making the buzzing disappear when I heard May groan. My ever-so-little control over whatever was happening slipped at the sound and I could feel the floor start to shake.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" I said with the firmest voice that I could master, though it still sounded pretty weak even to my own ears. A sudden wave of exhaustion suddenly started to take over. O'Brien however didn't seem to peak up on the earthquake that had suddenly started and just looked at me from head to toes. "You gonna answer my questions now?" He didn't even make a move to throw me to the ground again. He knew as well as I did that I wouldn't be able to fight him as much as I wanted to.

My hands had turned to fists on my sides as I was looking at O'Brien with a great desire to hurt him for even touching May. But no, I was not going to answer his questions, not in a million years and he quickly picked up on that. I could feel the vibrations of the room get more and more apparent as my control over whatever was happening slipped away.

The final straw appeared to be when he grabbed May's neck and I could tell he started squeezing, stopping her airways. " _S-Stop_!" I screamed and with a newfound energy I felt a vibrational wave come out of my whole body, making the room quake violently.

"The hell? An earthquake?" O'Brien moved away from May when he finally registered what was happening. But it was too late. I could see pieces of the roof coming off and falling to the ground. He had to dive as a, quite large, piece of stone came down and almost buried him to the ground.

 _Crap!_ I ran, and by ran, I mean walked as fast as my feet would carry me, to May and tried to untie her bindings not caring for anything else other than getting her out of that chair and into safety. Though with every unstoppable vibration coming off my body and making the room shake even harder, I could feel my low energy levels getting drowned.

"Skye, get out of here" I could faintly hear May's concerned voice as if I was underwater and shook my head. "I am not leaving you" I whispered and only hoped for her to hear my words.

I somehow managed to untie one of her hands and she started working on releasing the second. Once that was over and done she threw my arm over her shoulder, helping me walk and we started making our way out of the room, with O'Brien nowhere in sight and the exit door wide open. "Come on, Skye, a little more" she urged me to move. I lifted my eyes a bit to see her face, as her whole focus was on the door ahead of us.

As the rumbles were falling all over us I thought that I heard Hill's voice from behind the exit, though there was no way that she would be close by, was there? We were almost out of the room when I noticed a rather large piece of stone falling off the roof and coming straight at us. With one last burst of energy I pushed May aside and I fell on top of her, as if to protect her from getting hit by the concrete.

The exhaustion finally caught up with me and I blacked out, welcoming the peaceful darkness once more.


	22. Goodbye For Now

**AN: As promised you get the chapter today! Also this is the last part of the** **backstory that I mentioned in an earlier chapter. I want to keep this short, so thank you to my Beta _MegaDiary123_ and to all of you who have fav/fol/reviewed/read this story.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

When I woke up, I was somehow at the Med Bay. Not the one that we had on the training campus, but at the Academy. I had injured myself plenty of times in the past year to know the place even though it was dark when I came to.

I looked around and checked on my body, felling everything at the same time just to assess the extent of my injuries. The truth was, I was hurting all over the place. And I could feel the bandages that were wrapped around my torso and hands. I had this strange floating feeling that I guessed was from the painkillers that I was full of at the moment. Meaning, I could feel the pain from the bruises and cuts, but it was nothing compared to the feeling that I had when I was in the interrogation room.

And as I thought of that room, everything that played out came rushing through my mind. I flinched at the memory of the vibrations that were coming off my body and into the ground without being able to stop them.

Whatever happened from the moment that O'Brien started punching May was my fault and no-one else's. Realisation hit me that I had no control, and the slight control that I thought I had disappeared into thin air once May's wellbeing was threatened. And something like that was bound to happen again in the line of business that I was training for. S.H.I.E.L.D. would put two and two together and they would find out about what I could do, and they would put me in the Index. Should that happen, I knew how the system worked. I would be assigned an agent to report to and would basically be forced to be cut from everyone and go somewhere far away. I would be far from May, Natasha, Jemma…

But what if I accidentally hurt Jemma?

My mind had taken a very strange and, honestly, dark turn soon after me waking up and if it kept going like that I would only see the negatives of the situation that I was in. But maybe there was a way for me to protect everyone and be able to keep in touch without being afraid of hurting them. Because them being hurt and it being _my_ fault would be a nightmare that I wouldn't be able to shake off.

And then it hit me.

I needed to learn to control my powers, or whatever this whole vibration thingy was. But I wouldn't be able to learn to control them under the constant observation of S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least the Academy that I was in at the moment.

With that being said, I _would_ have to disappear, but I would disappear on _my_ terms.

Slowly I got to a sitting position and I was happy to find that my ribs didn't hurt as much as I was expecting them to, and my vision wasn't spinning so the concussion must have been better.

I got up to unsteady feet and wobbled a bit but found my balance quite quickly. I looked around and found no soul anywhere on site. There may not have been any clocks nearby, but I was sure that it was the middle of the night. I was glad that luck seemed to be on my side for once as I slowly started heading to my shared room with Jemma since I had to take a few clothes with me before I left.

It took me longer than normal to walk through the familiar corridors but eventually I reached my destination. The door opened with a whoosh, but it wasn't enough to wake the sleeping girl that occupied the room.

First of I started looking for a bag to get some clothes in. To my surprise, on my tied-up bed was the bag that I had taken with me to the training camp. It seemed that Hill or whoever brought me back here took my stuff from the camp as well. I quietly unzipped it and checked its contents, just to make sure everything was in there and that I didn't need anything else. Thankfully I remembered to grab some cash that I had stored in a box in my nightstand and made a move to leave, with the back over my shoulder. But at the exit I paused and looked back.

Jemma wasn't even sleeping in her bed, but was instead slumped at her desk over her computer. I dropped the bag, walked over to her and took the blanket from her bed to throw it gently over her shoulders. A smile was evident on my face as I took in Jemma's peaceful expression and tried to memorise it in the best of my abilities since I guessed it would be a long time before the two of us saw each other again. My eyes darted a little bit to the right as I noticed that she was holding onto something really tightly, as if it would be the end of the world should she let it go.

I leaned in to inspect it and saw that it was a photograph. Well, wasn't that interesting? I had never saw a picture of one of Jemma's family, since I guessed that this was who the picture protracted, and it wouldn't harm her if I peaked, just to justify my curiosity.

My eyes widened when I took in was I was seeing. It was a photo of me working on my computer with my headphones on, having probably shut the rest of the world out, and Jemma making a funny face at the camera. I had no idea that this even existed.

Well, there was one more thing I needed to do before I left.

* * *

 _Simmons' POV_

I woke up to someone knocking on my door. As the thundering sound continued on and I had no choice but to open up, I got up and headed to the source. I saw Maria Hill on the other side, with a perfectly Operations mask on her face.

"Good morning agent Hill. Is everything okay?"

" _What the hell do you want? It's like 5a.m. for crying out loud"_ I wanted to add, but I couldn't since she was outranking me and she was one of Skye's trainers. I did have a bone to pick with her though.

She was the one that had Skye all beaten up during that "morning sparring" that they had that day before her birthday. And then when Skye was in the training camp she was texting me through a safe line that she had created at least once every couple of days. And then she suddenly didn't and next thing I know she is back here, all beaten up and bruisesed and all I got from Hill was that an exercise had gone wrong and that Skye was to relax until the end of the training camp that the rest of Operations was at the moment.

"Have you seen Skye?" She asked and that snapped me out of my thoughts.

"No, not since yesterday that you brought her in and I spend my day next to her hospital bed" I said, leaving a bit of venom coming out and seep into my words. Hill didn't even flinch, and I guessed she must have expected such a treatment from my part. But as she kept quiet realisation drawn to be and concern took over. "Why? Did something happen?"

The agent sighed and didn't reply right away. She was probably thinking whether or not she should tell me what she knew, but the she looked at me dead in the eyes and I knew I was going to get a truthful answer. "I am to return to the training camp today and I passed by Skye's room to see if she was awake only to find her bed empty. No-one knows where she is and we have the whole Academy on lockdown until she is found. I was hoping that she would be here with you, but I guess I was wrong" she turned to leave and with an outburst of courage I stopped her by grabbing her wrist. I opened my mouth to say something but she stopped me before I even formed a word. "I will let you know as soon as we find something. I know you don't like me very much Jemma, and if I have to be honest I can't blame you. I just don't want Skye to hurt herself, she is in no condition to move around, and I know you can respect that".

She gently shoved my hand from her wrist and walked away, leaving me in a shock.

I slowly got back to my bed and sat with my back on the wall. Where could Skye have disappeared to? I saw her the previous day and Hill was right, even if she could get up she would be in no condition to stay like that for too long and because of her stubbornness she would injure herself even more, probably trying not to worry any of us with her problems.

My gaze traveled to her empty bed in front of me trying to remember when was the last time that I had seen it with the sleeping form of Skye on top. I titled my head to the side as my mind registered that something was wrong, but I couldn't quite pinpoint it. I got up and observed her bed, which was the same as the day that she left, all tied up and ready for her to return. But then, it wasn't like that yesterday, was it? There was the bag that she had taken with her to the camp on top, along with all her stuff and in my best recollection I didn't remember putting it away.

My head snapped back to my bed and then to my desk, underneath which laid my blanket. Which I was sure that I hadn't used when I fell asleep looking at the photograph that I took of Skye without her knowledge. Which meant that Skye did come, but I was too damn exhausted from the day that I didn't even notice! I was mentally beating myself up when I walked to the desk and gathered the blanket from the floor to put it back on the bed.

Once back on the desk, I sat on the chair and let a heavy breath. _Where the hell are you Skye?_ I was thinking as my eyes darted around my desk. I noticed the edge of the photograph that I was holding sticking out of my planner. I definitely didn't put it there, which only leaves one person…

I quickly opened the book on the page where the photograph was in, only to see that it was on the day when we both moved in the Academy. The photo had a paper clip on it and with furrowed brows I took it in my hand to inspect it. A gasp escaped my lips when I turned it the other way and found a letter. With big letters she had written "Manscaping" on the back with a smiley face next to it.

I took the letter on my hand and unfolded it, revealing its contents and prepared mentally before opening it.

 _Jemma,_

 _By now you probably know that I have left the Med Bay and I am guessing that the Academy is in Lockdown (if you didn't know, I am really sorry that you had to learn it this way). And because it's you, you're worried sick about where I am and if I am okay. So, let me assure you that I am perfectly fine._

"Sure thing Skye" I say to myself. "Perfectly fine my ass" I said giggling at her antics.

 _Now, I can't tell you where I'm going because I don't know yet that myself yet. The thing is, I needed to get out of S.H.I.E.L.D. By the time you read this I will have erased all traces of me ever being at the Academy, all feeds with me in them will have seized to exist. Yeah, I will have to hack even further into S.H.I.E.L.D. but I am confident enough that I won't get caught and if I do… well, you will learn all about it since they will drag me back there. Anyhow, back to the topic, something happened during the camp that revealed some stuff. I can't tell you what and risk your safety, but the reason why I left is because I had to protect you. And Jemma, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that something happened to you because of me. So I need to disappear._

 _But I couldn't leave without writing to you. I am going to miss you very much, but I will keep in touch as much as possible and will always look after you, even if you don't know it. You have helped me greatly in the past year and your friendship is something that I value in my heart and I hope that we can continue being friends after everything._

"Oh, Skye. If only you knew what you mean to me after this year…" I said as tears threatened to escape my eyes.

 _Now, I am getting all sentimental and I am guessing that you are as well. So, when did you even take this picture!? And why didn't I know about it? And because of all that, I couldn't help it but take revenge. You might want to check your computer after reading this letter._

 _I should go now, because people (and by people I mean Hill) will start waking up soon and I want to be gone before that happens._

 _Talk to you soon Jems,_

 _Love,_

 _Skye_

With that, and full out tears in my eyes now, I put the letter aside and opened my computer. Once the screen was open a photograph popped up that had me laughing hard. It was me sleeping on the desk the previous night and Skye was there mimicking the same grimace that I had made when I took the photo of her with her computer. A post-it note was next to the photo and on the computer screen saying "Remember our safe word :)"

I giggled at that. "Manscaping" I whispered. I would never forget, and even if I did I would have the letter to remind me.


	23. Hacking Stark

**AN: Hey everyone, I'm back. As always, please thank my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123._ From this chapter on we enter the second part of this story. Hope you like it...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _~ About 5 years later ~_

 _Skye's POV_

I was lazily driving my van in the middle of the night. I watched as the big New York city lights came closer by the minute and soon I was in the town. It was pretty late, and I was truly expecting the city to be empty or at least partially dead at this hour but the streets were all full of life.

I carefully kept driving on the streets that I knew no cameras would catch my presence and so I could remain undetected in yet one more place. I observed as teenagers got wasted drinking alcohol, and not just that, as they were laughing really hard with their friends. I never understood why someone would waste their control over their actions so that they could have one more drink. But I guess since I never really had the chance to taste it myself I wouldn't know what was so appealing. Maybe my opinion on it would change over time.

I turned a left and found a relatively quiet alley to park my vehicle. And by relatively I meant that there were a few boys hanging around, talking loudly, but it seemed like the kind of people that wouldn't pay any attention to me.

I pulled the handbrake and claimed a spot in the darkness. My mind tracked back, trying to find the reason why so many people would be at the normally-less-lively New York so late. And then it hit me. It should have been obvious, really, considering that they were probably there for the same reason as me.

The Stark Expo would soon be open to the public.

Stark, whose head was over the clouds since birth, believed that since he became Iron Man we had the longest uninterrupted period of world peace. And truth be told there were no major terrorist hits anywhere, and this made his gigantic ego even bigger, something that I was sad yet at the same time impressed, to learn that was possible.

But, of course and I knew better than to believe him. I had already hacked into the FBI, CIA and other organisations, including S.H.I.E.L.D. At first, I said that it was so that I could keep track of what the people I care about are doing and to be updated on their wellbeing, but the truth was that I really wanted to hack in there just for the fun of it. And the director did try to keep me out once or twice, even almost succeeding, but I think he either gave up and decided that I wouldn't harm anyone with the info that I was gathering or was just waiting for me to get sloppy and get me. My bets were on the latter, but I never lost focus when hacking into this organisation.

Anyhow, I knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. continued working on the shadows and so, preventing many major terrorist attacks and was monitoring other… events happening in the world. With that being said, of course and Stark couldn't get the credit for all the peace-keeping around the world. But, also of course, he would never admit that and he did love the spotlight. And so, he decided to reopen the Stark Expo that people from all over the world came to New York just to see.

One of those people was me, only my purpose on the busy city was completely different from that of most. I came here with only one goal, to hack into Stark Industries.

* * *

I was sitting comfortingly in my van, which was filled with high tech computers. A lot of them, if not all, I had programmed and upgraded myself, since I couldn't get a strong enough software in the market that easily.

It was a few of days before the Stark Expo and a couple days since I arrived at the city. By now I had hacked my way through the general security walls of Stark's system and was working my way to the centre of it, so that I could take control and play a little bit with him. It would be really funny if, I didn't know, Iron Man's suit suddenly started punching itself or flying circles to no end for example. Just some thoughts that had crossed my mind more than once while my hacking took place.

It was in the middle of the night when I made a major breakthrough and I started sending viruses that I knew would work. Soon I would have the access I needed and then–

Suddenly the viruses started bouncing back to me and I was the one who was getting attacked by the foreign system. I title my head a little bit, utterly confused by what was happening. My system always worked and there was no freaking way that my coding was false, I knew my stuff and was pretty damn good at them. So, what the hell was happening?

With newfound energy I crunched on top of the keyboard and started typing like a mad man receiving, defending and sending attacks almost simultaneously. Well, that was an interesting turn of events. I never expected someone so high on his horse to have a defence system that I had not encountered before. Another first was my computer shutting down on its own, or rather being forced to.

"Shit!" I exclaimed before I could help myself and I turned to the rest of the computer at my disposal. Moving fast, I turn everything else down, saving my work to one and only encrypted hard drive that I safely stored to a place that only I knew of. Just as I made the final move and was sure that everything was safe and at its place, my van door opened to reveal three men in black that were certainly sent by Stark.

I paused a moment and then turned to look at them, smiling as if I had done nothing wrong.

"Hey… what up?" The words left my mouth and next thing I was being forced out of my home and towards a black SUV.

* * *

I fidgeted in my sit, playing with the wraps around my arms and hands. As soon as I was thrown off the SUV I saw that we were at the entrance of Stark Industries. The 'very kind', bodybuilder-like bodyguards led the way with me trapped between them to the lobby and from there we took the elevator.

"Mr, Stark is expecting you just down the hall" a British accent voice spoke as soon as the door opened. I was expecting the other people to follow along but they seemed as if frozen in place, all looking at me. When I made no move to go forwards the voice spoke once more. "Mr. Stark doesn't like to wait".

I guessed that that was my clue to go and I left the goons behind to move to where the voice told me to. I reached a room that looked like a very big and expensive living room, that had a bar on the side as well and basically screamed that Stark had money that he didn't know what to do with and spend them on whatever he wanted to. And sitting on one of the many couches was the man himself with Ms. Potts a few feet away. My eyes locked with hers and she nodded so that Stark knew that I was in the room, not that he hadn't heard me walking in.

He got up and turned to face me, his expression switching to a surprised one as soon as he laid his eyes on me. "You are the one that tried to hack me?" His voice didn't mask his curiosity at all.

A smirk appeared on my face because of the reaction that I got from the billionaire. "I would prefer almost succeeded" I replied titling my head to a mocking bow.

He walked up to me, trying to tower over me with his height. His face was all serious again, a business mask washing over his features. I could still see the playboy in him, it would be almost impossible for him to hide his true nature completely, but I would give him credit for trying. "Well, 'almost succeeded', how did you do it and most importantly why? Who do you work for?"

"Wow, wow" I said, taking a step back and lifting my hands separating us. "Isn't that an awful lot of questions now? And given you having no idea who I am, how I work and not to mentions you have _no_ leverage over me, why should I answer?" My hands now were folding in front of my chest.

The mask that he wore for only a couple of minutes crumbled down with my reply and a really bright smiled appeared out of thin air. What the hell was it with this guy and his mood changes? He turned his head to look at his assistant who was eyeing me worryingly, almost as if assessing me up. I guessed that this was her job since nothing seemed to face Stark. Then he turned back to me. "How old are you? I would expect someone as bright as you in computers to be already swapped by S.H.I.E.L.D. or something".

 _If only you knew,_ I bitterly though but the smile never left my face. "They don't know about me. Just like you won't be able to find anything either, so I wouldn't bother continuing the research that I guess you have already started to find out my identity. I work alone".

"So why try hacking into Stark Industries?" He repeated the question that he had asked before in hopes that this time he would actually get an answer.

"Why not?" I just said and that seemed to be enough for him as his smile now reached his ears, if that was even possible.

"I like her" he declared to Ms. Potts who was now standing next to him. "Can I keep her?" He asked as if for permission. This earned him what could only be an evil and full-out judging glare from his assistant who was clearly struggling not to roll her eyes at him.

"I am no-one's property" I simply said before anyone could say anything. I had learned about Stark's behaviour and he was never short on money. Which was a bad combination since he could get whatever he wanted really, and no-one would be able to say anything. But the way that he phrased his question, which sounded more like a statement to my ears, in combination with his tone gave out a creepy vibe.

I could see the hints of a smile on Ms. Potts face when she looked at me. Then she turned and looked at Stark who was just as eagerly looking at her. They seemed to have a silent conversation and then simultaneously they turned their attention back at me.

"What I mean, is that I want to hire you" he stated.

"Come again?"


	24. New And Old Faces

**AN: Hey everyone. A thank you to all of you who reviewed in the last chapter, as well as to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ If you want to, please let me know how you think the story is going. Until next time...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Come again?"

"Well, you are too good to let you go just like that. Many companies with great human resources have tried to hack into my systems in the past and none of them have every come as close as you have. And you are just one person!" He exclaimed and threw his arms up in the air with glee and wonderment. Honestly, he looked like a kid who just got a new toy to play with. "So I want you to become my new head of cyber security"

I didn't know what to say at that. When I walked in here I never expected to end up with a job offer. And eventually it would be my choice and whether I would want to work for a big industry like this.

"I am not so sure about that" I replied honestly. "I believe in freedom of information and not the protection or cover of it"

"And I am not asking you anything like that. I am not S.H.I.E.L.D. and since you know about them you know how much of the truth they hide from the public eye. Hell, even most people don't even know that they exist. I have no intention to do something similar, I believe that their secrets should be out and this is why I keep on trying to hack them". Well, that meant that I shouldn't tell him that I had already succeeded at that. "I am just asking you to make sure that no other company will be able to hack me and steal my blueprints and schematics. Can you imagine what would happen if someone got the blueprints for the Iron Man suit?"

"I guess that what you say does make sense" it was obvious that my words made him happy. And since he did work in the light, he would want to have as less secrets as he possible could. "One question thought, before I tell you my decision. How did you manage to hack me back?"

Oh, for how long was he waiting for me to ask this question. His whole face lit up and he threw his hands up in the air. "J.A.R.V.I.S." he voided.

"Yes, sir" the British voice from before replied and I looked around trying to find the source. "What was that?" I asked once I figured it wasn't someone speaking from a microphone.

"This is Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, or just J.A.R.V.I.S. for short. He is an A.I. that I created who helps me run this place". Leave it to Stark to create an A.I. who sounded like a British butler.

"Or rather he is running this place for you" Ms. Potts commented from the back not being able to help herself. This brought a smile at my lips and she smiled back. I liked her already.

"As I was saying" he cleared his throat, so that we were once again watching him. What an attention seeker he was. "He is the one who alerted me of your attempt to get into my systems and together we bounced you back".

"Oh, so there was a need for both of you in order not to let me in?" I placed a hand over my chest. "I wouldn't expect you to personally defend your system from me. Thank you" I said in a fake gratitude.

"So you in?" He said while he was clearly kicking himself mentally for giving me so much credit.

"We have to work on a few conditions, but yeah… I'm in" I said and extended my hand for him to shake which he did reluctantly not even caring what my terms may have been.

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

It had been more than a week since the last time that I got an update from Skye. We did talk, briefly but talked nonetheless, in a weekly basis that both of us had stuck to in the last couple of months.

I knew that she had left the Academy and when she first contacted me all those months ago I had no idea what was going on with her life. She had assured me that she was fine, though Skye's "fine" wasn't reassuring at all. Still, I had promised her to keep our conversations a secret since I was too afraid that she would fall off the radar should she learn that I spoke to someone about our interaction. And because of her abilities, I didn't doubt for a second that, should this be the case, then she would find out about it.

So there I was, in the apartment that I share with Clint, on my desk and with all the paperwork and backstory that I had to learn for the next mission that Fury assigned me. I was reading through the life of "Natalie Rushman" when I got a notification on the computer screen and my eyes snapped at that direction.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, focusing on the written message.

 _\- Hey Nat. Sorry for the wait. I got a job and couldn't contact you for security reasons. You ok?_ I read the message instantly.

Well, it was about damn time that she did get a job. I hadn't heard anything similar since we started talking and I was very skeptical of how she made her living before, probably through hacking. But still, knowing that she did get a job was a relief. Maybe I could exploit that info for my benefit? It wouldn't hurt to try…

 _\- Hey you! That's great news! Who in their right minds would hire you?_

 _\- Ha ha. Very funny and nice try. I am not going to tell you who I work for so that you won't find me._

Well, as I said, it was worth a try. The chances of her actually telling me where very thin to begin with but you never know.

\- _Why don't you want me to find you Skye?_ I asked for the first time since we restarted talking. I was always too afraid to ask so as not to startle her off and go off the grid again. But I couldn't help but be worried and there was a hope inside me that now that she was clearly in a better place maybe she would let me near her.

 _\- It's not safe for either of us, at least not yet. Maybe in a few years or so…_

"Come on Skye! It's already been years!" I yelled at the screen and made a great effort not to punch it. This girl could get me frustrated so easily. I knew she cared for me and she knew that I cared about her and yet she wouldn't let me help her. _She knew_ how hard it was for me to let people in and she was the only one along with Clint that knew so many stuff about me but that didn't seem to be enough. I didn't know what more she wanted from me.

In that moment I got another notification on my screen saying that Fury wanted to talk with me. It was probably to talk about my mission as Stark's assistant which was mostly to keep an eye on him. Honestly, it would be so much easier if we just put a leash on this man. He was a walking disaster.

With a heavy sigh I switched screens and resumed to finish the talk with my sister.

 _\- I need to go. Have a mission to prepare for. You can write to me, but I am not sure when I will be able to get back at you. Don't overwork yourself._

And with that I switched the computer off, not waiting for Skye's reply. My mission mode switching on and I pushed the thoughts about Skye on the side focusing on becoming my new persona.


	25. Girl Talk

**AN: Good Day everyone. Once again, big thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Keeping this short, welcome to every new reader of this story and another thank you to the ****reviewers. With no further due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

 _\- I need to go. Have a mission to prepare for. You can write to me, but I am not sure when I'll be able to get back at you. Don't overwork yourself._

This was not the reply that I was waiting for. I was almost sure that she would pressure me more about my whereabouts. But then again maybe she did have a mission and this wasn't just a plain excuse to end our conversation. Also, she did know me pretty well, no matter the more-than-four-years gap in our conversations and she had probably figure out that I wouldn't reveal any new info unless I wanted to.

Just as I was about to type my goodbye and good luck to my sister, J.A.R.V.I.S.' voice echoed through the room. "Ms. Potts is asking for your presence at the main living room".

"I'll be right there" I informed the A.I. immediately and closed the secure line without the reply that I was preparing. I was still not very used to having J.A.R.V.I.S. around and he would usually surprise me when I would hear his British accent out of the blue. But even I had to admit that Stark had put some pretty decent effort into his programming and the butler himself was a great help while I was reviewing the existing security measures for Stark Industries.

Coming out of my thoughts I realised that I was on the elevator, heading to the pinpointed meeting point. I was in the Stark Tower for about three days now and I found it pretty easy to move around and navigate myself. The Tower seemed so intimidating and confusing from the outside, but once you walked through the numerous corridors, labs and rooms it wasn't as hard.

"We are here" J.A.R.V.I.S. announced instead of the classic _bing_ one would get when the elevator reached the floor.

"Thanks Jar" I simply said.

"I would ask you not to call me that Ms. Skye". I suddenly stopped and a mischievous smile appeared on my face because if that wasn't interesting I didn't know what would be.

I had tried numerous times to find a proper nickname for the A.I. however none of them seemed to ring just quite right. And through all of my attempts and suggestion, this was the first time that I got a reply, or dare I say… _objection._ "Why would that be?" I didn't even try to mask the anticipation in my voice.

"My protocols prevent me from upsetting Mr. Stark" he simply replied as if this would explain everything. I was out of the lift and, almost blindly, walking without paying really any attention to my surroundings.

I could not see how using the specific nickname your upset Stark, but if this was the case then I was all in. But first I needed to know what the reason behind his possible startling would be. "Please elaborate" I requested and knew that he couldn't really say no so I patiently waited for what was to come.

"The nickname that you used is part of the name of a fiction character created by George Lucas for the movies Star Wars Episodes I to III. I am afraid that Mr. Stark wasn't quite pleased with the movies and the specific character was his least favourite. And since I know all of his preferences, I am also programmed never to speak of that name in his presence and I would greatly suggest you do the same"

"Are you talking about Jar Jar Binks?" I elaborated. He didn't say the name directly and I guessed that it was because of his programming, but I had no such problem. So when it was confirmed, I was quite pleased that I found a new way to tease the billionaire.

"Thank you for the help _Jar"_ I was now in the living room and I could see Ms. Potts looking at me with a smile, matching my own, on her face.

"You know that he is not going to be happy if he hears you refer to his creation with this name, right?" She said but always in a good mannered and playful way.

"I am counting on it" I admitted and turned around to fully face the woman.

I was always fascinated by strong women and the fact that Ms. Potts was a woman who was handling Stark made her a great inspiration. It took a lot of courage, patience and authority for anyone to even try to handle the playboy. Plus, without anyone's help but her own and by not being one of Stark's "girls", she managed to promote herself from just a normal secretary to the face behind the brand who was truly handling everything in Stark's name.

"What can I do for you Ms. Potts? Jar here informed me that you were looking for me?" I said all-serious. She was, after all, my employer. And with the lack of previous employments in my CV, I wasn't really sure how relaxed I could be in her presence.

"Oh, please. Just call me Pepper" she said and waited for me to nod in order to continue. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast since I got so lost working and getting ready for the Expo that I am starving. And J.A.R.V.I.S. informed me that you haven't put anything in your mouth as well. So I was wondering if you would be so kind as to have dinner with me?"

I was taken a little off guard by her proposal. I meant sure, I would love to hang out and get to know her but it couldn't have been that easy, could it?

She must have noticed the mental argument that I was having with myself because she quickly added. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But since you're the only other woman here who isn't afraid to call Tony out on his bullshit I thought that it would be nice to get to know you" the smile never left her face as she spoke.

"And you got all that from the brief few times that we met since I arrived here Ms. Pot–" that earned me a pointed look and so quickly I corrected myself, "Pepper?"

"It's true that we haven't spoken much, about anything really. And, also true, I figured all that in this short period of time. Women usually crawl to Tony's feet trying to get his attention" she pointed out with disgust. But then her tone grew softer and friendlier as she added. "Yet you are not that kind of woman, or dare I say girl. It's nice to have someone who isn't afraid of Tony and his influence"

I made a mental note of the way that Pepper called Stark. I would expect her to call him either Stark or Mr. Stark given her position in the industries and based on how the media portrayed their relationship. I could tell that Stark was very fond of her and she did go everywhere he did.

But it seemed like even if Stark didn't know it, Pepper cared a lot about him.

"Well, I can't say that you are mistaken" I moved to one of the many sofa's in the room. "He is like a child trapped inside an adult's body. An adult who, unfortunately, has more money than he knows what to do with". I watched as Pepper moved to a nearby fridge and got some water to pour to a couple of glasses that were patiently waiting to be used. "And you _do_ need someone to help you with him" I got the glass that was offered to me and Pepper relaxed on the same sofa, only a comfortable distance away.

"So how about we try and be friends?" The older woman suggested.

"I would love to try that" I admitted. "And let me start by telling you one truth about myself. I am a _terrible_ cook".

Silence folded the room for a couple of seconds before Pepper burst out laughing as if I had just cracked the most hilarious joke. "That makes two of us. When I suggested dinner, I was thinking of take-out. What are your thoughts on Chinese?"

"Chinese sounds great"

* * *

 _Pepper's POV_

I had finished the dinner that I had with Skye and was back at my desk working endlessly for the Expo that was coming closer and closer by the day. It was obvious that the Expo was a huge convention that would probably not have as much profits as it would have expenses.

Had I said that to Tony a million times already? Of course I had. Had he bothered to change anything or stop it? Of course not. If Tony put something on his mind, then it would be almost impossible to change any plans that he had considered. And I had a feeling that it was the same with Skye. Geez, those two could be so similar at times that it was annoying. Though it did help as the girl wasn't afraid to talk back to Tony and it was actually quite funny to watch their interactions.

I leaned back on my chair and thought of how the dinner went. We talked about everything and nothing, keeping it to a relaxing and easy going vibe. Based on her reactions on some questions that were going to be more personal, the girl kept a lot of secrets.

One, she had always had her arms and hands wrapped up. I had never seen that before. And the other was that she seemed very closed off, and needed a bit of a nudge to open up. And by open up, what I meant was just start talking. Apart from the dinner that we had she had mentioned that we hadn't really spoken since she arrived. But it wasn't completely my fault. True, I was head to toes in work for the upcoming Stark Expo, since Tony didn't lift his finger to arrange a thing, but whenever Skye wasn't working on one of the mainframe computers, she would be locked in her apartment.

I would get that girl to open up, that was a promise that I made to myself. And since we had Tony to tease as a common ground, I guess it wouldn't be too hard.

My thoughts were abruptly cut when the floor started shaking and the objects that I had on my desk started falling over and on the floor.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" I asked as I got up and moved to the nearest exit to take the stairs to the ground floor.

"It appears that an earthquake has occurred with our Industries being at the centre of it Ms. Potts. I would suggest you get out of the building as fast as possible" he instructed even though I was already at the stairs and heading down. It was only a few minutes later when his voice echoed again through the microphones closest to me and I jumped a bit from the surprise, not expecting him to say anything else. "Ms. Potts, it appears that almost everyone is out of the building" that had me stop dead on my tracks.

"What do you mean 'almost everyone'?" I requested while panting.

"The little personnel that had remained has all left, however Ms. Skye is still in her room. She appears to be sleeping heavily, not responding at all to my calls. Should I call someone to get to her?"

Damn it! I knew that Skye didn't sleep well at night. It was pretty obvious from the dark circles that she had every time that I was in the same room as her. And I was really glad that she finally got some sleep into her system, she really needed it, but out of all the times this was the worst possible one for that to happen.

Without a second thought I change the destination that I was running towards. "J.A.R.V.I.S. open the doom to her room as soon as I get there!" I screamed not diminishing my speed at all.


	26. Truth Coming Out

**AN: I'm back! Thanks to all of the supporters of the story and to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Hope you like the chapter.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Not that I was surprised but Pepper turned out to be a great person. She would make a remark whenever she could and wouldn't hesitate to tell her opinion on any matter.

After all these years alone I had only stumbled upon one person on my self/power discovery journey. And the truth was that he was struggling just as much as I did at the time and so we had helped each other. But that was it. And though I did keep tags on all of my family, and Jemma of course, and had also started talking with Natasha again but it wasn't the same as having someone physically there to talk to.

I made the mistake to go to bed while full of those thoughts. It turned out not to be a very smart move.

 _I walked throught the corridors of the Academy. My memory didn't fail me as I walked from the gym to the room that I shared with Jemma._

 _There was this nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. As I reached my destination and stood outside the room I realised what was bothering me during this whole time. The whole Academy was deadly quiet and also practically empty since I didn't bump into anyone. Carefully I twisted the handle to enter and found Jemma at her desk studying. It was an image that I had so clear in my head and this time it was no different. No sooner had I stepped inside than Jemma's gaze snapped to my direction. Once her eyes really focused on mine, I saw a flame there that I had never seen before._

 _"_ _What are you doing here?" Her voice dripped with what could only be described as hate._

 _I took a step back, almost hitting my back on the now closed door. This was not the Jemma that I remembered. "What… I… why would you…?" I was at complete loss of words._

 _"_ _Why would I what?" She snapped at me once more, interrupting the little conference of thoughts that I had managed to master. "Why would I what, Skye?" She repeated putting emphasis on my name. I was cornered at the door with no way out as she angrily came and stood just a few centimetres from my face. "Why would I say that? Or why would I say it_ like _that? The sweet Jemma that you knew died the day when you disappeared without saying anything other than leaving this damn letter behind" and with that she threw the object, which was roughly folded into a ball._

 _"_ _I did that to protect you" I whispered because I was unable to master a louder voice._

 _"_ _You did that to protect yourself, because you are selfish" she countered. "You always kept secrets. Ever since the beginning and I was starting to break your walls down and you got scared. That's what happened"_

 _"_ _You have no idea what you are talking about" I tried. I opened my mouth to speak again but then someone else interrupted me._

 _"_ _Oh, she doesn't?" The recognition came just before I spotted the red hair and green eyes. "I know you Skye. Hell, I raised you!"_

 _When Natasha came into the picture with her deadly assassin gaze, she was followed by the rest of my family. I wanted to curl myself in a tiny ball and disappear when I noticed their sad and angry faces. The second part was impossible to happen, so I did what I could and found myself in the corner with my hands wrapped around my bended knees on the floor._

 _"_ _Did we hurt your feelings by speaking the truth, kid?" Followed Clint's remark._

 _"Aw_ _, see… she's gonna cry" Phil's voice was the next to echo._

 _"_ _Stop" I whispered as I felt the ground shaking._ Please… please. Not now. Not again! _I mentally screamed._

 _"_ _Why would we stop? Did you stop to think how your disappearance would affect us?" May replied as she, and all the others, closed in and towered over me._

 _I thought I saw the rest of the room darken while their faces lightened up. The shaking peaked up and all I could do was repeat "I'm sorry" over and over again. That was while trying to get my rapid breathing under control._

 _It was Jemma's turn to, once again, say something but instead she lowered to my level. My head was still ducked between my knees and so I had no idea what she was going to do. The action that followed took me by surprise as she touched my shoulder and I flinched, but her hand never lost its contact with my body._

 _"_ _Skye" she said more softly than expected, but with a sense of emergency in her voice. "Skye, wake up. You need to wake up"_

I blinked and was back on my bed at the Stark Tower with Pepper standing over me and looking with a concerned, yet urgent expression on her face.

"What's going on? What are you doing here?" I asked, maybe a little bit more harshly than I should, and my hoarse voice didn't help the situation. But I had just woken up from a nightmare to find the woman there, whereas one of my conditions for accepting this job was that no-one would enter my personal room, or floor in this case as Stark was quite generous with my accommodation and payment.

My question didn't seem to surprise or phase Pepper who must have expected such a reaction from my part. "There is an earthquake going on and we are evacuating the building. J.A.R.V.I.S. informed me that you were still at your room and not responding to any of his calls. So I figured that it would be best if I came to get you out instead of some personnel. His protocols are overridden in case of an emergency so he didn't have any choice in letting me in" she said in a hurry and I could see the all she wanted to do was grab me and urge me out of the building. However she hadn't moved an inch since I woke up and she just observed, waiting for any kind of reaction.

It took me a few seconds for her words to really register. Since the shaking occurred in my dream as well, and let's face it I was used to the feeling by now, I hadn't realised the earthquake that I could feel was happening because of me.

I jumped out of the bed in a hurry and pointed at the door. "You should get out of here, I have some stuff to grab and I'll meet you outside"

"I'm not leaving you here! Forget about your stuff, you have to come out. Nothing is worth that much" she said. The tone similar to the one she used when she dealt with Stark and it meant all business.

"Please, go" I softly begged.

What I got was a simple shake of her head. "I'm not leaving unless you're coming with me"

"Fine!" I said as I looked around for a place to hide. I knew the drill that I had to follow, by heart. I spotted the room-closet that I had, which was practically empty since I only had a few clothes with me. "You can stay if you want to, but I'm not leaving" and with that I bolted towards the closet and locked the door behind me before Pepper had a chance to stop me.

No sooner had I closed the door than I heard Pepper knock hard on its surface and playing with the lock in a futile attempt to unlock it. "Skye! Come on! Get out of there. The earthquake is getting worse by the minute"

 _I know it and this is why I have to do it now,_ I wanted to tell her but only thought about it.

I could faintly hear Pepper speaking, trying to get me to leave the Tower with her. I quickly switched the lights off and went to sit to a dark corner in a lotus position. With my hands gripping my knees hard, I focused until everything became a noise in the background. The only things that I felt or heard we're my even breathing and the vibration shaking the room by coming off my body in waves.

I closed my eyes and only saw darkness. I created a mental image of the feeling that I got from the vibration and how the waves were moving. It took some time, but with a lot of effort I managed to stop them.

And just as the quake subsided, the purple lines from the fractures in my arms grew larger. I couldn't hold the grip on my knees any longer because the pain started to spread through the rest of my body as my arms were unable to hold all the pressure from my powers. I collapsed, with my back hitting the wall as the adrenaline started to leave my body. Though the pain tolerance had increased greatly during the last year, I was still heavily affected by episodes as big as this one was.

I tried to think back to the last time when something in a similar scale occurred because of me. It had been at least half a year and I had been confident enough that I wouldn't have another incident, especially since my birthday were a few weeks back. The nights full of terror came and went without as much of a tremor. So I had made the mistake to relax and this, in combination with the bad track that I had about changing environments, must have been the reason for the earthquake that had just finished.

"Hey Skye? The earthquake seemed to have stopped but we still have to get out for the proper checks before we can come in again. Can you come out of there now, please?" I faintly heard Pepper's voice as it was muffled from the door separating us.

Now with my thoughts shuttered, I had to find a way to deal with Pepper as well. Damn it. Why couldn't I just get a break?

I made a move to get up, having forgotten the pain for a second as my arms had grown numb. However the feeling didn't last long because the moment I touched the floor to get up, my arms gave out in protest and I fell on the floor.

"Crap!" I cursed and wanted to say much more but eventually just gritted my teeth. I mustn't have spoken the word loud enough for Pepper to hear as I had a feeling that she would be worried and asking if everything was okay. And she was the only one in close proximity to help me out in the situation that I had found myself in. "Jar, could you please allow Pepper to enter the room?" I kindly asked.

"As you wish Ms. Skye"came the A.I.'s reply.

"Hey Jar, let me ask you something before you do that. Why couldn't she enter before?" I asked while realisation hit me. Or it could be the weird-like-floating feeling that I was having due to the pain.

"What do you mean?"

"Pepper said that your protocols are overridden when in an emergency. This was how she managed to get in the room in the first place, correct?" I asked, a bit out of breath and got the affirmative reply from J.A.R.V.I.S. soon. "Since she could open the door to my room, why could she not open the door to the closet?"

"In the first case that you mentioned, I was directly instructed to unlock the door of your apartment and room from Ms. Potts. In the second, I received no such command from Ms. Potts though she did ask you repeatedly to unlock the door. Since the request was never directed to me, I had no obligation to open the door. This is your floor and by extension I would have only unlocked the door without your commanded had I picked up that you were in great danger" I hummed in response as I digested the information I had just received. "However, I do detect elevated heart rate, rapid breathing and you seem to be in distress and pain. Unless you wish for me to alert authorised and medically trained personnel, should I let Ms. Potts in now?"

"Sure… thing" I said in between batted breaths and by grunting.

I hadn't even finished my sentence when the door of the closest whooshed open and Pepper came running to my direction. "Let's get out of here" she repeated once more and stopped a few feet away. When she saw that I wasn't moving at all to follow her instruction she came in closer. "Skye, are you okay?" She asked as she lowered to my level, hands on her knees.

"Help me up?" I asked and tried to sit up with no success.

She eagerly nodded and moved to do what she can for me to move. First she supported my back so that it was on the wall and that I wasn't lying on the floor. "Come on, up we go" and she got my arm to throw it over her shoulder. As soon as her hand wrapped around my lower arm, I hissed and greeted my teeth. She was alerted immediately and moved a little back, worrying that she hurt me somehow. Her eyes fell on the purple lines on my arms and she looked closer, examining them. "Skye, what happened?"

I cursed mentally for the lack of wraps around my arms and hands. I usually wore them all day long, both to hide the purple marks and as it helped ease the pain that sometimes coursed through them. But, during the night and with the security that my personal space would remain personal, I let them breathe a little bit before they ended up wrapped up again the next day.

"If I told you that I fell from the quake and hurt myself would you believe it?" I asked though I knew what the answer would be. For a slight surprise I got a deathly glare from her and not a vocal reprimand. "Fair enough"

She helped me out of the room. "I have a first aid kit under the bed, if you would be so kind as to get it for me" I tried to change the subject though I knew I couldn't avoid it forever.

"No" she said and there was no room for argument. "We are going to sit and you are going to tell me everything. Then we are going to a doctor to check you out because I want to make sure that your injuries will be properly treated" and with that she eased me on my bed.

"Promise me that whatever I tell you, you won't tell anyone" I said sternly. She made a move to nod and I raised a shaking hand to stop her. "Not even Stark" I explained and saw her hesitate for a second before nodding reluctantly. I let out a sigh at that and smiled slightly. For some reason I believed her and it felt good to share my secret with someone. "Where should I begin?"

"How about the beginning?" And do I begun, while trying to think of the excuse that we were going to use to Stark when we saw him.


	27. What's Up With Stark?

**AN: Hello guys. Let's start with the usual, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_ and let me inform you that this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, and Stark may appear a bit out of character (ooc), but it is intended. It is an interlude chapter and from the next one we go more into _Iron Man 2_.**

 **Now, I am sorry that I didn't manage to upload yesterday as usual and unfortunately this will not be the only time that something like that happens. I traveled to the UK because I'm gonna start my studies and I am moving in the uni these days. So my schedule is a bit full and I don't know when I'll have time to write or upload. I will try to stick to my normal uploading schedule as much as possible but the days will probably be messed up for a couple of weeks the least, trying to sort everything out. Thank you in advance for being patient with me and a welcome to all the new readers.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Skye are you okay? What the hell happened?" I heard Stark's voice as he entered the room.

"I told you already" followed Pepper's exacerbated tone. "She was in her apartment during the earthquake. I went to get her and as we were heading out the quake peaked up and I fell over, while a tall closet was about to fall on me. Skye went to catch it before it hit me and she hurt her hands in the try as she fell and they got trapped between the floor and the closet" she said the excuse that we made up and had memorised by heart. So much for my excuse of falling being lame. By the way that Pepper was talking I could guess that she had already said the story at least half a dozen times before coming into my apartment with Stark. She pointed to the fallen furniture, which had actually fallen. This was the only true part of the cover that we were trying to sell. "Honestly Tony, what is the point of having a simple closet in an apartment when there is already a room-closet installed?" Pepper now had her hands on her hips.

"We have already talked about this Pepper" Stark said and waved his hand dismissively. "The room-closet is in another room completely, too far. What if she wanted to put some stuff or clothes closer to the living room? Or what if we had an emergency meeting? She would lose precious time by having to go that far to change".

"Yeah, precious few seconds" Pepper murmured, not enough for Tony to hear, but I heard it nonetheless.

At this point I coughed because it seemed like their disagreement would never reach an end and my presence in the room was long forgotten. And though I didn't mind hearing them argue, it _was_ one of the funniest parts of my day after all, my hands were throbbing and my patience was growing thin. The attention went back to my face and I smiled at them both.

"It's okay Stark. Honestly, the hands will heal quite quickly and I'll be good in a couple of days" I tried to reassure.

With my fair share of accidents while using my powers, I had learned the healing period it would take for me to be able to work on computers again. Of course each episode was different from the other and it was a matter of how bad it was and how many vibration I was directing within, but the time window usually varied between one to six day. I had never hit a point when I would need more or equal to a week to recover.

Stark moved closer and sat to another sofa in the living room of my apartment-floor. He rested his elbows on his knees and hid his face with his hands. He seemed… upset.

Then he lifted his head as if hit by a lightning. " How do you even know how many days it would take for them to heal? The doctor said that it would be at least a week" he said while something that sounded like concern leaked into his voice. _What is it with Stark toda_ y? I thought.

I lifted my hands that were once again wrapped tightly with a new set of bandages. It was deemed that I didn't have to wear gypsum since it didn't look that bad at the exams and I was glad for that. The wraps, I was used to, but if I was forced to wear the hard material it would drive me crazy. "If you haven't noticed already, I am quite clumsy. This ain't the first time that I hurt my arms and it won't be the last. I am used to it really, it's okay" I lifted my shoulders in a doesn't-really-matter kind of way.

"But it's not" he cut my movement half way. "It's not okay" he said almost to himself. His eyes were trained on me, but he wasn't really looking. It was as if his mind was a million miles away.

I saw the change in his demeanour and shot Pepper a glance. She was looking at him with equal worried eyes and when she looked back at me I could tell that she had no idea what was going on. She carefully walked a bit closer, her steps echoing to the now quiet room. As soon as the palm of her hand was placed on his shoulder, he snapped and got up.

A smirk made a way to his face, as he was trying to get the playboy expression back on. I could see, however, that the smile never truly reached his eyes. He turned to me and pointed a finger at my face. "You have to be more careful, kid. I am not paying the doctor's bills if you get hurt on my watch over and over again" he said in a challenging tone.

"Oh, please" I replying, giving in his desire to get a response from me. "I could easily hack into your account and get the money if I wanted to. I am the head of your cyber security, remember?"

He scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. I was beginning to think that this was his new favourite move of the week. But since he couldn't come up with a teasing answer all he could do was walk away. "Feel better kiddo" he was almost off the apartment but he stopped at the door frame. "You said two days, right?", and with that I nodded. "The Expo starts at three days. I will have J.A.R.V.I.S. observe you and inform me immediately if you as much as go near a keyboard. Or a tablet with the desire to work. Because on the third day, you will be working since sunrise to make sure everything is ready to go for the Expo"

"Sir, yes sir" I said laughing at the same time. And since he mentioned J.A.R.V.I.S. I had to say something more. "I will make sure that Jar won't have to inform you about any of my activities" and I watched with pleasure as his expression turned to that of confusion at first and then into disgust.

He saw me and knew that this was something that I had planned. So he adopted his distinctive smirk once more and gave a mocking bow. "Well played Skye, well played indeed" and like that he was out of sight.

Pepper had stayed back, since we had agreed to talk a little bit more about what was going to happen from here on out, but she had more pressing matters to attend to. Matters with 'Tony' written on top. "Go" I simply said and she gave me a grateful smile, forming 'thank you' with her lips but never pronouncing the words.

I leaned back at the sofa, now that the apartment door was once again locked and I was left alone to my, once again, personal space. No computer access for a couple of days, hmm? How hard could it be?


	28. Change Of Scenery

**AN: I'm back! Thank you for being patient, the last few days have been hell and just found some time to sit and upload the chapter. I will try to upload again within the week, but chances are that the next ch. will be up during the weekend. I will not hold you any longer, you waited long enough for me to actually put the ch. up. So, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_ and...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I thought that being separated from computers for two days would be agonising. Especially after leaving the Academy, hacking would be the way to pass time and make a living and so it had become second nature to me. But I had to admit that it created an opportunity to get back to something that I had neglected ever since my arrival at the Tower. And that was physical exercise.

True, in my state, or more specifically the state that my arms were in, I couldn't do as much as I would like to do. But Tai Chi was always there for me to relax and lose my thoughts into. This focusing without straining myself too hard was something that I hadn't even realising that I had missed. A connection to May and Natasha that would never truly be lost. Also, J.A.R.V.I.S. had to report to Stark only if I were to go online, but not if I were to hit the gym. The billionaire had no idea about this part of my life, among others, and I was glad for it. After all, with the Expo coming closer and closer by the day he seemed to spend more and more time at his basement, building and upgrading his suits. So, all I had to do was use the facilities in my apartment and he had no idea what was going on. Because, _of course_ and there would be a fully equipped gym in every apartment in the Stark Tower. Why not?

Apart from this time-passing activity I would spend some hours with Pepper. It would drive me crazy if I just stayed locked up in my room for 48 hours and Pepper truly needed someone to be there for her, and Stark wouldn't be the one no matter how much she wished for it.

She would talk and talk and talk. Sometimes it would be to herself as she went through analytics and arrangements that needed to be made. Other times she would address me and I would stay quiet and listen to her as she went on and on about her thoughts and what was going on. Honestly, being in the same room as her just for a few hours gave me more intel about the company, herself and Stark than any internet-based research would have in days.

And, apart from everything else, it was nice having someone who knew about my powers and past.

Pepper would more often than not ask me if I needed anything or if I were in any pain. Being used to act like a mother to Stark seemed to have stuck and she seemed to have adopted a similar role when dealing with me. It was cute if anything else. She reminded me of Jemma in this part.

We grew closer in the span of those days of my recovery and even on the day of the Expo when, as Stark had said, I was working since sunrise, she would knock on my door regularly just to make sure that I was alright and didn't need anything. After half the day had past, I couldn't stand the sound of her knuckles on my door every hour, or so, anymore. So I informed J.A.R.V.I.S. that if I were in the room and Pepper wished to enter she had my permission. But only if I was in the room, giving her full access all day and with no restriction was too much. I wanted to see how the restricted access would work out before I gave her more trust.

But when she came next time to see how I was doing, I found an ear-to-ear smile in my sign of trust. And to her credit, she didn't comment it at all, just checked that I didn't need anything and left.

* * *

It was incredible. Stark would get in trouble without even looking for it. I was on one of the Industries' private planes, flying to Malibu, California as I was watching the replay of his attendance at the Senate Armed Force Committee in DC that took place only this morning.

 _"_ _The point is, you're welcome, I guess"_ Starks voice echoed through the plane. It was near the end of the whole ordeal.

 _"_ _For what?"_ Senator Stern had to ask and make Stark start rambling about his achievements. It was obvious that the playboy didn't like the Senator and the guy provoked him all the time. I mean, come on. He was asking for it.

 _"_ _Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe._ America _is secure. You want my property? You can't have it!"_ He was now hitting the desk with every word as he was speaking very passionately. _" But I did you a big favour. I've successfully privatised world peace. What more do you want? For now!?"_ I turned the TV off after that.

Sitting back on my chair I pressed my fingers over my closed eyelids remembering the events of that day. Just as the Senator had pushed Stark to a corner, he took over the television's use for display of evidence and showing the U.S. trials with Justin Hammer to recreate Iron Man suits with trials and similar trials all over Asia. All failed, of course, since Stark's blueprints were safely secured and it was my job to make sure that they stayed that way. Given what I saw today, I wouldn't let that happen, not if it was up to me. And after all of that he disappeared and went to his mansion alongside with Pepper and his errand boy, Happy.

Pepper…

I still couldn't understand how she could stand Stark from time to time but from what I had gathered, it was all down to her love for him. I watched the news, with her in the background and I could tell that she was totally filled up with him.

While they were alone all evening in Malibu, I was working in the Industries which was a much more quiet place without them being present. I was wrapping everything up when Jar informed me that I got a call from Pepper. Curious about what she could want at that time and if something had happened with Stark I picked it up. And, yeah, something had indeed happened. Stark made Pepper the new CEO of Stark Industries. The arrangements would happen the next day for everything to be official and legally proper, but it was happening. And Pepper wanted me to get ready and leave for California with one of their private jets as soon as possible to continue working close to her as she took her new role in the company.

This was how I found myself, well past midnight on a jet and on my way to Pepper and Happy welcoming me to the airport with one of Stark's cars.

"Get in" he simply said without even leaving the car.

"Nice to see you too. How are you?" I asked as I placed my small language in the back sit and I sat in the front. He didn't even turn his head from looking at the road to glance at me. "Look, I get it. You don't like me or you are indifferent to my face. But we will be seeing each other frequently from here on out, so why not try to get along? Just give it a try" I let out a sigh and slumped onto my seat. He didn't reply and he kept the same facade until we reached the mansion and he showed me my room.

"It's not as big as the one you had in the Tower. You should get used to it, because this is it" and with that he disappeared to the corridor, probably heading for his own room.

Well, it appeared that he wasn't indifferent but just didn't like me. It also appeared that being Stark's personal bodyguard and errand boy was not a great job to have. And he wasn't in a position similar to Pepper's so he couldn't really express his opinion on the billionaire's behaviour. And then there was me, a new face in the close circle of Stark who could speak with him, and who was closer than many to the new CEO.

But, I didn't really care what he thought and if he knew that the smaller room that I got in the mansion, comparing to the apartment of the Tower, was a relief more than an annoyance he wouldn't be particularly happy.

 _Ha,_ I thought. _I have never seen Happy happy… poor guy._

* * *

I was awake for at least a couple of hours before I heard a knock on the door with Pepper's voice following it. "So, how do you like the place?" She said and entered to see how I settled on the place.

"It's nice. I like the room, it's more my style. But hadn't really had the chance to wonder around to see the rest of the mansion" I said mindlessly with a smirk on my face.

"Sorry about that" Pepper said and I turned with a look of confusion, not understanding the reason for her apology. She was looking down and she was wearing a small frown that I didn't know where it came from. "I know that you had to come here in the middle of the night and considering the time difference between here and New York…"

"Don't even mention it" I walked up to her, hoping that my closeness to her would be enough to get her to actually look at me. When that wasn't enough, I faced myself and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Really, don't worry about it. You have a lot more in your plate now. I wasn't even tired when you called so I would have been up either way" I smiled when she finally lifted her head. "So, how do you feel about your new job?" I teased and moved back to my desk as she went to the small sofa in the room. "Hard?"

"Hard?" She laughed when she said the word while raising her eyebrows. "No. Hardness would be all the years that I was trying to run the company on Stark's behalf and get him to agree and sign for everything. I know how almost everything works by now and have the authority to do as I please for the best of the Industries. I just have a lot more to deal with and I have to have people I trust close to me. And I trust you, Skye"

She spoke of trust so easily, though we only knew each other for about a week. And, once again, she seemed to read my mind. "Yeah, I do trust you. Why do you think I got you here in the first place? The mansion doesn't have lots of rooms and the only ones here at the moment are the two of us, Happy and Tony. And this is why I am going to give you a promotion". She got up from the couch and just then did I notice the folder full of paperwork on the inside. She got out a couple of them and gave them to me.

I read through all the lines and was left with my jaw hanging open. "This gives me full access to all the cameras all over the Industries, plus access to all the files concerning the company. I– I don't know what to say" I lifted my face to see the smiling face of the woman.

"Don't say, do. Sign the papers" she handed me a pen. "Of course, nothing will be official until the new assistant that will come today and is from legal gets Tony's signature for my appointment as CEO. But I can't think of anyone better to keep an eye on this place and the people inside it". She pointed the papers, still held tightly in my hands, with her chin. "So, what do you say?"

"I can't even… thank you" was all I managed.

"As you said before, don't mention it" she went to place a hand on my shoulder but J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted us.

"Ms. Potts, Natalie Rushman is in the entrance asking to see you"

"Please let her in, I'm going to the lobby to greet her" she said and I handed her the papers, now signed. "The notary's here" she declared and left to go meet her.


	29. New Assistant Coming Up

**AN: Hello everyone! Please thank my Beta _MegaDiary123_ for editing this chapter. Also, as promised I'm back this weekend with a new chapter, yeah! I hope you enjoy...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

I was looking at the mansion's interior design and detecting every possible exit. The mansion's layout was just as the blueprints that I had memorised were. Though it was getting harder and harder for us to hack into the Industries' systems, this operation was planned months ago, ever since Stark revealed himself to be Iron Man despite the alibi that we provided for him. So, we had our fair share of intel already gathered. But this new person who upgraded their security walls was a mystery to Fury and it would be a great bonus should I get a name or at least a face to look into.

However, my goal here was to keep an eye and assess Stark. And whatever else I might want to find came in second.

"Ms. Rushman" my thoughts were interrupted by Pepper Potts' confident voice.

I spun around and came face to face with the soon-to-be new CEO of Stark Industries. All it would take was a few signatures on the papers that I was currently holding close to my chest. "Ms. Potts, it is a pleasure to meet you" and with that I extended my hand for her to shake, which she did without a second thought. Good.

"The pleasure is mine. And let me thank you for coming in such short notice" she said as she started walking across the room with me right behind her.

"It was no problem" I replied with a smile and sweet tone. I was going to use both of those a lot in this mission and I had a feeling that my cheeks would get sore afterwards from the effort.

We never stopped walking as we crossed the lobby and headed to a room which was the source of punching sounds and muffled discussions. "I will let you get your papers and everything in order as I inform Mr. Stark of your arrival. Give me a few moments and come in" she said kindly, but left no room for discussion. Especially as her form disappeared inside the gym saying loudly "The notary's here!", followed by other words directed to Stark. She would make one hell of a CEO, that was for sure.

The paperwork was already prepared on my hands and so I took this time as an opportunity to inspect this place better. I immediately noticed the security cameras that were hanging high on the walls, having one or two blindspots from what I could gather in this quick glance. They were not in the mansion schematics that we had on our possession, which meant they were new. I had to make sure to let Fury know of that development.

I noticed the lack of Potts' voice coming from the other room and took this as my cue to enter. No sooner had I entered the gym than Tony Stark's and Happy Hogan's discussion on the boxing ring stopped.

I, of course, noticed this, but went on to Potts who was standing in a corner on the room, never sitting and doing something on her phone. "I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company" she said to Stark, whose eyes were still trained on my form. This was going to be so much easier than I thought. Pepper followed my instruction for the sign over, while Stark beat Hogan up and walked to the edge of the ring.

"What's your name young lady?", he asked with eyes full of curiosity.

I titled the edges of my lips upwards a little bit at the attention that I was getting from him. "Rushman. Natalie Rushman" the name came out naturally as if I truly were her.

He seemed to analyse me before he spoke again. "Front and centre. Come into the church" as he pointed at the ring.

At this Potts and he argued as to whether I should or should not listen to him and actually get into the ring but, after my reassurance, I did get in there. Trying to show some naivety as to why I was there I looked at him, waiting for a reaction. This was the first close-up that I had with the playboy and though my eyes didn't leave his as he drank his dark liquid, I did inspect him. My peripheral vision caught a peculiar and very interesting pattern crawling from his chest and upwards to his neck and I mentally noted it.

"What?" He suddenly asked, finally giving in the silence that had wrapped the room. Without getting any reply from my part, he turned to his bodyguard and asked him to show me the basics of boxing.

"Sure thing" Hogan replied as he motioned for me to move further into the centre of the ring. "Come on, don't worry. It won't bite" he mocked and I had a hard time not responding or show him some of my knowledge on boxing. I was dully paying attention to what Stark and Potts were talking about and soon Start asked me to spell my name.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N" I replied as he typed it onto his table and looked over the cover that S.H.I.E.L.D. had created from me.

"So, have you ever boxed before?" Hogan's voice brought my attention back on him. When I turned I found a silly, underestimating smile on his face.

Oh, how much I would enjoy making it disappear. But, I didn't let that show in my persona as I replied with a simple "I have, yes". _And boxing isn't the only martial art that I have done before,_ I restricted myself to just think and not speak.

"What, like, the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that?", he asked and all I could do was clear my throat.

Was this guy full of prejudice or what? The file on him didn't justify the character that he was showing at the moment. Maybe he was finally able to let his frustration on Stark's behaviour on someone and that was me. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time and all. But I doubted that this was the case. My bets were that there were a lot of women rising at the ranks all around him as he simply remained Stark's bodyguard no matter the years he had in that position. One such woman would be Potts, but she couldn't have been the only one for him to act this way towards my face. So… who else was it?

While I was making plots in my mind, I never got lost in there. I could hear Hogan from the ring explaining some basic moves and techniques of boxing as if I was the dumbest person on earth. On the other side of the room Stark and Potts had sat and argued, as the man was still looking at my cover.

I turned to look at Stark and Hogan found it as a great opportunity to teach me a lesson. "Rule number one, never take your eye off your opponent" he said and made a sloppy right punch aiming to my face.

I was so glad that Fury had allowed me to use whatever means necessary to impress Stark and for him to make me his new assistant, because I was going to enjoy this next part very much. It was revenge time.

The punch almost made contact with my cheek before I turned quickly and grabbed his wrist with my left hand. Twisting it hard, I was happy to hear a small cracking sound coming from it. I could see the surprise all over Hogan's face but before he could say anything my legs were wrapped around his neck and he was harshly thrown onto the ground. I was still holding his intending arm tightly and had him in a chock hold.

"Happy!" Potts exclaimed as soon as she heard the _thumb_ his body made when it made contact with the floor, while Stark declared me the winner as soon as the bodyguard tapped out.

"Rule number one" I whispered to his ear. "Never underestimate your opponent" the sweet smile always on my face as I got up and exited the ring. "Just… I need your impression" I told Stark getting back into business for him to sign my papers.

"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know… you have an old soul" he started but had no idea what he was talking about and had troubles coming up with ideas. He was clearly struggling as he completely misinterpreted the meaning of my words. "I meant your fingerprints" I interrupted all serious. All fun aside, this was my job and I had to get it over with, no matter how much Stark liked to play and talk all day.

"So, how are we doing?" Potts asked not allowing Stark to reply back to me.

"Great" he said as he pressed his thumb on the box that I had indicated. "Just wrapping up" and with that he pressed harder and made sure his print was in the page before retreating his finger from the paper. "Hey, you're the boss" he smirked at Potts who was watching the whole exchange carefully and with trained eyes.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?" I asked as I retook the, now filled and signed, paperwork at my chest and held them as if they were a precious lost treasure.

"No" Star began, but Potts interrupted with a "Yes. That will be all Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much"

So I nodded slightly and exited the room. However, I was close enough to hear Stark say "I want one". The happiness that I was radiating was not forced as my plan had worked out perfectly. I left the mansion and walked swiftly to my car. Once locked in and knowing that no-one would hear me, I took my phone out and made a call.

"Romanoff, is this line secure?", came Phil Coulson's voice from the speaker. I simply confirmed before my call was transferred to the director. "How did it go?"

"Give him a few hours and I'll be in". After that I hang up and headed to my safe house in the nearby area. It might have been only half a week since I last spoke with Skye, but it wouldn't harm to check for any new messages.


	30. Let The Race Begin

**AN: Hello guys. Managed to find some time to upload this chapter. As always many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_ for editing this and every chapter. I also wanted to thank you all for reading this story. I won't keep you any longer, please enjoy!**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I was really enjoying the new access that I just received from the new CEO. Stark had signed the papers and along with his signature came my promotion. I was going through several of the cameras both in New York and in the mansion. J.A.R.V.I.S. was talking to me through the earpiece that I was currently wearing, helping me get familiar and guiding me through the systems more quickly.

That was until I heard a knock on the door. "Am I interrupting something?" I heard Pepper ask, popping her head inside the room.

"Just finishing some stuff up" I replied, turned off the computer and spun my chair around to see her. "What can I help you with?" Followed immediately since I detected the business tone in her voice.

"I know it's been like half a day since you arrived here, but I need you to prepare a bag for a daily trip. There is the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique happening tomorrow and Stark Industries have a car in the race. It will only be beneficial and it's necessary for an appearance to be made _and_ we are leaving in an hour" she said while at the same time typing something on her phone.

"And why are my skills needed for this trip? Don't get me wrong, I am just the _cyber_ security manager, not general security" I responded matter-of-factly.

At this Pepper lifted her gaze and switched off her phone. "You are and this will be my first formal appearance as a CEO. I want you there, with your computer and skills, so that if anything were to happen company-related we will be able to get the situation under control fast. As I said this morning Skye, I trust you and you not being 13 hours away and in another continent would be a great reassurance". I couldn't argue with that and ended up nodding my consent, though I had a feeling that I would end up participating in the trip whether I liked it or not. "Great!" Pepper said clearly satisfied by my answer, as if a weight was off her shoulder. "Now, do you have anything formal to wear or should I order something for you to find once we arrive?"

Oh, no. I had agreed to go with them, but I was not going to go _in_ there with them. "What do you mean?" I questioned and got up, blocking Pepper's way from my closet.

"Well, since this is a formal appearance, there is a dress code. Unspoken really, but it is there. You can't just come in with your jeans and t-shirt" she pointed at my current clothing. It was, more or less, the general clothing of my choice and I definitely didn't have anything formal. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I were to wear a dress.

"I am wearing my t-shirt and jeans because I am not going to be by your side during the race" I stated.

"Come again?" There was some challenge in her voice as if she wanted to add _"Yes you are going to be there"._

"In the contract that I signed once Stark employed me, among other terms was one that stated that I was not to make any public appearances unless I wish to. I read the second one that you gave me this morning and it did not include any cancelation of the terms stated in the initial contract" I spoke as if I was reading from a manual. Then my voice went softer as I added, "You know I would like to keep in the shadows for as long as possible. And now you know why. I can work just as fine from the stadium watching the race. My phone has a hard enough software to allow me to work just as I would work from a computer"

I waited a few moments as she contemplated my words. She didn't speak for a long time so I said one more thing, just to be clear. "I will not hesitate to walk out of here if you decide to go against my decision. I survived alone for years and I can do it again if need be"

This seemed to shake her off the trance the she was in. "No, no, no. There is no way I'm forcing you to attend the meetings. I really forgot about it. Gosh, I am so sorry Skye, I was just thinking which seats to book you to enjoy the race". It all sounded like a big sentence from the speed that she was talking . "But yeah, jeans should suit you just fine" she smiled. "I'll see you in an hour then"

And this was how I found myself in the Stark Industries jet once more. Of course Stark and Pepper were in a different section of the plane, enjoying some quiet time and probably some rest considering the time difference to Monaco and that we would lose most of the night. Happy and I on the other hand were in a second, smaller section, each one keeping to themselves. Happy was resting, or at least trying to given that he was running all day long with or for Stark… again.

I was not sleeping lots of hours in general, and the time difference didn't help at all, as my system still thought it was late afternoon. So I stayed up on my computer being very thankful for the internet that the jet provided.

I had yet to go through all the new-accessed files and so I kept on working on that. I wanted to learn and memorise as much as possible before we went back to Malibu, or wherever else Pepper decided to go to. Being informed and knowing what was happening in the Industries would provide some reassurance in case anything were to happen. So, there I was, going through the files when I noticed that a payment was made in the company's name that wasn't there the last time that I checked. Curious, I opened the attached file to read the full thing.

What it basically was, was a receipt for an airplane ticket that Stark purchased.

That was strange. Having a private jet and all I thought that he wouldn't have to go anywhere with a common airplane. Focusing back on the document, I searched for the name that the reservation was made for only to find a woman's name.

Natalie Rushman.

That ring of it sounded familiar, only I couldn't place quite where I had heard it from. I scanned the rest of the receipt and found only Stark signature on the digital paper and not Pepper's. He may not have been CEO anymore but he still had a lot of authority in there and since this was not a too great expense, he probably could fill it on his own. However it felt only right to ask Pepper if she knew about this transaction.

I quietly walked over the snoring Happy and to the section where the former and new heads of the company were. Stark was fast asleep, not that I expected anything else. Pepper on the other hand was reading quietly a book, but her phone was always in her hand in case she needed to use it.

I walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder only for her to tense up. "Sorry" I apologised. "I didn't mean to startle you"

"It's okay really. I should lay down for a bit either way. Just lost track of time" she rubbed her eyes emphasising her words. "What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing really, it can wait until you have some rest"

I made a move to leave only for Pepper to gently grab my hand and stop me from taking another step. "Skye" was all that needed to come out of her mouth for me to make a one-eighty.

"I just… does the name 'Natalie Rushman' mean anything to you?"

With that her whole face lid up and any sign of sleep disappeared. "Yeah, she is the notary that came this morning. The one that I told you about?" I nodded at that. "Why, what happened?"

"The name appeared on a new payment that occurred with the company's money. It was for a plane ticket, business class, from Malibu to the closest airport to Monaco and back. It was also accompanied by transportation payments to the Grand Prix" I announced and opened said file on my phone screen to show to Pepper. "Is there something wrong?" I asked alarmed when I noticed the furrowed eyebrows that suddenly appeared on the woman's face after my story.

"I want you to find everything you can about her" her tone all so serious. I could fill in her thoughts though she didn't voice them. _"If Stark's gonna play it this way, I'm going to be ready"_ because, apart from his signature, this whole situation screamed Stark.

"Will do" I confirmed and retreated to my part of the jet to start my research.

As soon as I typed the name on my searches program I began reading about her life. I finished and had made some mental notes about the main events in life. I finally pressed the 'photos' option to put a face to the name and realised that all I was reading was a cover. Well, this made things more complicated now, didn't it?

* * *

As Pepper, Stark and Happy reached the Hôtel de Paris, the place where all the rich people went to watch the race, I was already inside the stadium with two seats of my own. Pepper insisted on booking me a couple of seats instead of one, so that if anything were to happen I wouldn't be limited from a spacial point of view.

I watched from the cameras of the Hotel as the duo walked in, as I had hacked into their systems. After hacking major organisations and having Stark's software combine with mine on my phone, getting into this place was a piece of cake.

It wasn't too long before my sister, pretending to be Ms. Rushman came into the picture and I could see that Pepper was very calm about the whole play, surprising Stark. She looked into one of the cameras and nodded as she must have had a feeling that I would be watching over her in this trip. A small laugh escaped my lips and I shook my head at the same time. If I stayed close to Pepper for too long she would be able to see my every move. _What happened to my spy training?_ I thought jokingly.

After that I sat back, enjoying the peace and scenery. More of the scenery that was, since most of the stands were full and people were talking really loud from all directions.

It was quite some time since the last time that I checked on everyone back on the Hotel and so I opened my security feed once more. I found Pepper, on a window table, Natasha speaking on the phone, probably with someone from S.H.I.E.L.D., but there was no sign of Stark. I checked every single camera in the building that he was supposed to be in, but he was nowhere to be seen. That was when the announcement echoed from the speakers. It may have been in another language, and I had to brush upon my French, but from what I gathered, Tony decided to enter the race with the car that Stark Industries sponsored.

 _Seriously?!_ I mentally cursed while calling Pepper. Did that guy have a dead wish or what? He couldn't possibly be hoping to drive a race car in _Monaco_ for crying out loud. The racetrack was full of turns and if someone weren't an experienced driver it could end really badly.

"Did you know about this?", was what I heard as soon as Pepper picked up the phone.

"I had no idea, honestly. This is the first that I have heard of it" I replied as the cars got ready in the string line.

"What is this idiot thinking?" This was the first time that I had actually heard Pepper so upset vocally and not just mentally. I could almost see her with her head in her hands and eyes tightly closed.

The race had now officially started and the crowd was going crazy.

"This– This cannot happen" Pepper murmured from the other side of the line.

"Look, I can see him, he just passed by this part of the racetrack. If he keeps like that and doesn't do anything reckless he will be fine and get an earful from you when the race is over…" I finished dragging the word a little bit as I spotted something that didn't look quite right.

"Skye? What's going on?" Pepper asked as she picked up on my dragging.

I watched closely as someone in an orange uniform entered the track and stood right in the middle of it. "Tell me that you see that" I whispered and had already started making my way towards this person.

"I do" Pepper sounded breathless. A gasp escaped her lips, as well as most of the audience's, when the uniforms top got burned from what appeared to be something like a modified harness with electric whips.

"Shit, he is here for Stark" I exclaimed as if this was the discovery of the century. "Pepper, do you have Mark V with you?" I asked, now running towards the racetrack when the guy cut in half the front part of a racing car.

"Happy has it"

"Get him and get the suit here as soon as possible" I faintly heard Pepper calling Natasha's cover name and her talking back to the CEO asking for instructions. "I'm gonna buy you as much time as I can"

"Skye, stay put. You hear me?" But when I didn't answer she screamed one last time my name before I hang up and made my way to the track, as this guy had just cut Starks car and he flipped a handful of times before stopping by crashing into the wall.


	31. Broadcasting Live From Monaco

**AN: I hope everyone will have a great weekend. As always, thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ We finally have some action going on here! I hope you enjoy.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Pepper's POV_

"Skye stay put. You hear me?" I said to the girl who I was speaking with only to get no reply. The only sound coming from the speaker let me know that she was standing up and making her way through the crowd. "Skye!" I repeated louder but she just hang up.

"Natalie. Natalie!" I called for Tony's new assistant and she came over quickly.

'Yes, Ms. Potts" her eyes glued on the TV screen which was broadcasting live the events from inside the track.

"I really need to get in there" I said pointing at the screen where the camera had zoomed in on Skye's face who just threw a wave of vibrations to the intruder.

I expected the woman to say that it was not safe for me to go there or something among these lines. However, with her eyes still glued at the same spot she simply said, "Absolutely, I understand. How can I help you?" I looked at her as if she just grew a second head and she picked up on my reaction. "I'm guessing you have a way to assist Mr. Stark and… this girl. You are too smart to go in there without a plan" she explained, but still the way that she pronounced "this girl" didn't strike me quite right. It was as if she was hesitating and wasn't sure what to say exactly.

"Where is Happy?"

"He is waiting outside"

"Okay, get him. I need Happy" I watched as Natalie disappeared into the growing crowd, so I turned back on the TV and hissed as the guy who broke into the racetrack barely missed Skye's head, but found her shoulder. From the angle of the camera I could see Tony taking shelter behind another sliced car and hoped that Happy would get here soon.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I went against the crowd that was running away from the fight. I reached the end of the stands, but there were no stairs leading to the ground. So I was left at least four meters off the ground and away from where Stark's car was already sliced and with the guy closing in on him.

So, I looked at my hands and took a deep breath. It appeared that I would have to do this the hard way. And with those thought I jumped.

For just a few seconds I felt as if time slowed down. But the feeling didn't last for long and the concrete came rushing towards me or, to be more precise, I was falling quickly towards it. I stretched my hands and send a directed wave of vibrations to the ground, slowing my decent and cracking the ground where my powers where concentrated. I still hadn't gotten the hang of it, but I rolled a couple of times and stood up without doing much harm to my body. I was really happy to find no new hairline fractures making their way down my arms.

Sending my powers off me wasn't as hard or painful, but was still quite tricky. I would have to 'extract' them off my body at least a couple of weeks in a large field or something. If not, I felt like suffocating. Absorbing them inwards was what did most of the damage.

But it appeared that I had just found where to vend the excess power that I was currently withholding.

I lifted my gaze to the sound of electricity slicing a car, Stark's car. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding when I saw him slip out of harm's way. The feeling didn't last long though, as the billionaire walked behind the _Whip Reactor_ guy–that was how I was going to call him for the time being, I decided– and hit his back with a car door. Only the hit did nothing to him and with a backhand slap Stark was send flying towards another car wreck.

I started making my way to the track, pushing people and personnel who were trying to prevent me from reaching my destination. Thankfully the Whip Reactor had slowed down on his way to a still dazed Stark. He was hitting his whip on the concrete, in a circular motion, powering the thing up. He probably wanted to hit his enemy full force.

But he never got the chance.

As soon as I stepped foot inside the track, I lifted my hands, in a similar manner as before, and send strong vibration to his back. He was send flying instantly.

Unfortunately I didn't consider the direction that he was fling to, which was the same as the one that Stark was at. Thankfully the playboy was alert enough to jump out of the way and behind another sliced car, taking cover.

The Whip Reactor stopped a few feet from where Stark previously was and turned to look at me, clearly not expecting my interruption of his plans. He prepared to attack me and I raised my hands in front of my face, adopting a defensive position. It appeared that the car's fuels, from the wrecks, were leaking and this combined with the electricity cursing through the whips was not a pleasant combination. The moment his whips touched the liquid a great explosion occurred and the guy was sent flying once more. This time towards me.

I didn't even know how the guy was coherent after being hit so many times. However as I ducked to avoid him, he used his elbow and momentum to hit my shoulder and I rolled aggressively many times before coming to a stop.

Pain radiated from the place of impact, which was my shoulder and from the feeling it must have just been dislocated.

I was dizzy from my head hitting the ground but my S.H.I.E.L.D. training kicked in and I automatically placed my dislocated part back to its place. I was now laying on the ground, face up, and I lifted my gaze to see the angry face of the Whip Reactor who just stood back on his feet.

This time with no fuels preventing him from fully attacking me, he send one of his whips and I only barely managed to roll out of the way. The concrete where my head had just been cracked under the pressure of the weapon and I quickly got up before the second whip had a chance to wrap itself around my ankle.

"Stark, you okay?" I screamed as I ran to where he was.

He just looked at me as if he wasn't sure what he was watching. I peeked from the hiding place and saw the Whip Reactor closing in. I turned back to Stark who was still looking at me with this stupid look on his face. _I don't have time for this,_ I thought.

"Snap out of it!" I yelled at his face and when he wasn't faced by that either, I did all that was left. With no hesitation I raised my hand and slapped him hard on the face. "Focus!"

But I didn't have time to say anything else as the car that we were hiding behind was pushed, quite easily, by the guy who was looking down at us, fuming.

"Run" I said and quickly tackled the guy with all my strength.

It didn't do much, but it was enough of a kick start for Stark to get away.

Without slowing down, I started punching him on his torso, but with my hands healed only a couple of days ago, I had yet to get all my strength back. I had decided that keeping the fight in a close range style would be the most beneficial. Because he wasn't stupid enough to send his whip to me when I was close enough to him and risk hurting himself, would he?

He towered over me, trying to use his strength as his advantage, but I was too fast for him. I ducked out of the way and was behind him in an instant. I kicked the behind of his leg, making him fall on one knee. Quickly I send a roundhouse kick to his neck, hoping to at least daze him a little bit. But the man was a beast.

I felt as if time stopped when my kick did nothing and both his hands wrapped around my ankle. With no hesitation he used all his strength to lift me off the ground and send me to the wall surrounding the racetrack.

I braced myself for the impact as good as I possibly could, but I hit my back on the wall and the back of my head followed in the same steps. I fell to the ground as if I was a heavy sack and could not find the energy to get back up. I dizzily watched as the Whip Reactor, satisfied with my lack of movement, started making his way to Stark. Just as black spots made their way to the edges of my vision and the pain became greater, I noticed a car making its way fast to where we were and thought I saw Happy on the driver's seat.

I closed my eyes and let darkness take me, wishing that I had bought enough time for Mark V to get here.


	32. Inevitable Meeting

**AN: Have a great October everyone. Please, thank _MegaDiary123_ from beta-ing this chapter. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this moment and it's finally here! And what I can promise, is that from now on we will see Natasha a lot more than we used to. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

I watched the live broadcasting of a girl fighting off the intruder, trying to protect Stark. At first I was not a hundred percent sure whether it actually was Skye or not. I had not seen my surrogate sister for years, but something in my gut told me that this was her. Soon after she went into the racetrack the cameras zoomed in on her face, just as Potts called me over. I heard the CEO talking in the back, giving me instructions but my focus was at the scar on the left eyebrow of the girl.

And this is how there was no doubt in my mind. This _was_ Skye. And on top of everything else she appeared to have gained powers.

Pepper claimed that she wanted to go in there and I immediately agreed. If she had a way of helping Skye out, there was no way I would say no. Because I really wanted to speak with the girl and making the phone call for S.H.I.E.L.D. to come in… well this would not help my plans at all.

I called for Happy and soon turned my attention back on the TV screen. I watched the fight play out, secretly assessing Skye up. She wasn't as sharp as she used to be years ago, but she had kept up with her training, her agility all so present. I felt my stomach twist when she hit the wall and fell to the ground with a *thumb* and the camera didn't turn back to her face, but instead turned to record Stark's fight. Hopefully it meant that she was just knocked out, because I honestly didn't want to think of anything worse.

I had just found out about where she was, there was no way in Hell I could lose her now.

A few hours later I was sitting next to a hospital bed where Skye was laying on top of. Stark and Potts had left to go to the police office where the intruder was held.

I was assigned by Stark to stay by Skye's side at all times and inform him should anything happen. When I was told so, his tone was all so serious and I could see genuine concern in both, Potts and his, eyes. It seemed that Skye had managed to crawl her way into their hearts, in the short amount of time she was around.

I had put two and two together, and Skye finding a new job around the time when Stark Industries security walls grew stronger couldn't be a coincidence.

Potts was the one who appeared to be more concerned about Skye's wellbeing. All the time that she was in the hospital, before leaving for the police department, she was clinging to Skye's hand, her thumb carefully caressing the back of her hand. There was also no surprise on her face when Skye used her powers during the fight, so she must have known. What had Potts that I didn't and she trusted her enough with a secret that even _I_ didn't know about? We were so going to have a talk when she regained consciousness. Maybe I would even feel angry then for keeping such a big part of her life a secret, but the dominant feeling that I had right now, was that of concern.

* * *

To my surprise Skye came to earlier than the doctors expected. Like… hours earlier.

I was in the room, of course, with my computer open, filling the latest report to send to the director. I was typing through the events of today's disaster when I heard a ruffle coming from the bed. My computer was instantly switched off and I was by Skye's shoulder, watching her face as she came to. My hand found its way to hers, which was just laying next to her body. I remained silent as her eyes blinked a handful of times, probably because the lights in the room were too bright for her. Turned out, she had a concussion from the head injury. Just as silently I went to turn the lights off and was by her side once more, my fingers wrapped around hers.

The girl was about to move her bandaged arm and I squeezed so that her attention was turned on me.

Really slowly, mainly because of the drugs running through her system, she turned her head and her eyes rested on my form. Her eyebrows furrowed a little bit, as if not sure what was happening. "Nat?", she said with a voice so hoarse, but so small and vulnerable at the same time.

I crouched to her level and brushed a lock of hair gently behind her ear. "Hello little one. How do you feel?", my tone ever so gentle.

"Like I got hit by a truck" she turned back and made a move to lift her left hand on her face, having not realised that it was bandaged up. A hiss escaped her lips from the movement, probably because sharp pain went through her system. Her head turned to search for the reason of pain and her eyes rested on the sling. "What…?"

"Your shoulder got dislocated when you hit the wall. Worse than the first time and because of the short span between one dislocation and the other the doctors wanted to take precautions" I replied not sure how much of what I just said would get processed by her dazed brain.

In my surprise she grasped all the info as if she was wide awake, though she didn't look the part at all. "Let me guess, I also have a concussion and a couple of broken ribs, right?", which was actually everything the doctors had diagnosed. "And I should be up and about tomorrow, taking it easy of course, and that my injuries would still be annoying for about 2 weeks, especially the ribs?" I decided to hide my surprise for the accurate of the information that had just left her mouth and put on my neutral face expression with a simple raised eyebrow. Skye smirked at my reaction and was about to laugh when a wave of coughing hit her and her good hand flew from mine and grasped her tormented ribs, not being able to mask a wince from appearing on her face.

Immediately I reached the nightstand on the side and grabbed the glass of water which was patiently waiting to be used. "Here" I urged, holding the straw to her lips. "Slow and small sips". For once in her life she listened to me, not a really good sign if I were honest.

"Give me half the time the doctors foresaw. I should have fully recovered by then" she spoke after having drank a good portion of the water.

"How do you–"

"I just do, okay?" She interrupted me, in a stronger voice than I expected. I knew that tone… she did not want to talk about it.

I straightened my back, my mask never leaving my face. She didn't want to talk? _Fine._ We weren't going to talk. "I'm gonna inform Stark and Potts of your awakening, they were really worried for you. They care about you and you obviously share the feeling" I didn't let any emotion slip in my voice. I moved and grabbed a bag that I had brought with me and took out of it a laptop. "It's a standard Stark Industries laptop" I said as I placed the item close to her feet. "It should have any software you may need to erase your tracks from the internet. The live broadcasting should not stand a chance against your skills, should it?" Without looking back, I left the room while placing my phone to my ear, calling the CEO.

"Natasha…" I faintly heard Skye call, but I kept walking until I was out of the building, my emotionless mask not slipping even once.


	33. Taking A Break, Or Not

**AN: The next chapter is here. Many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_ , as well as to all the readers out there. I don't have anything to say about this chapter, so I'll just let you read it. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

After Natasha left me alone in the room, I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning my head even further into the pillow. I knew that I would eventually bump into her but this was not how I expected our reunion to go.

Trying to push those thoughts out of my mind I decided that I needed to do something to keep me from thinking about the disaster that just occurred. Switching on the laptop I started working on what Natasha had brought the computer for, erasing my tracks. It was quite trickier than the other times that I had done the same, keeping my identity in the shadows. One reason was that I could only use one hand, given that the shoulder on the other one was pretty beat up. The other reason would be the seer amount of pictures with me that existed on the internet only hours after the event. I was hoping that any pictures had yet to be printed out for the next day's newspapers and I was really glad that I had come to when I did. So getting to work, I started making my way through the dark web, coding as fast as I could, deleting everything I could find. The trickiest parts where the news stations that had the live broadcasting already up and running, so I would have to hack into the system of every news agency in the nearby area, as well as in America where Stark-related news were sure to make an appearance.

I finished quicker than I expected, or Stark and Pepper came in the hospital late. With no clock in the room I had lost track of time, especially since I had not stopped working on the computer. I could see Natasha looking at me from the door window but she made no move to stop me, or even come into the room for that matter.

So, when the duo of Stark Industries came in, I had completely no idea what time it was. Especially since I dozed off a little bit and woke up with silent whispers happening in the room.

I took a deep breath, releasing it heavily and making my awakening known for the people surrounding me. All whispers seized instantly and I heard someone walk across the room, standing on my right, before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes, finding that I was more tired than I thought I was. Probably I was more heavily injured than I first assessed and my system was trying to recover as quickly as possible. "Skye" I heard Pepper say with a small voice close to my ear, as if she didn't want to disturb me.

I turned my face to her direction and gave her a tired smile. "Hey" I said with my, once again, sore throat.

"Hey" she smiled back. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired" I saw Pepper's eyebrows furrow at that and so I added, "Don't worry. It must be the drugs" I lied swiftly. "I should be good to go back to the US today. You have stuff that you need to do at the Industries and I can't be the reason for you not being there". Emphasising my words, I sit up on the bed, resting by back on the wall behind me, trying really hard not to flinch from my still sore ribs. "See, I'm good" I told her with a genuine smile on my face.

"Oh, Skye. You don't have to worry about that, we will take a day off. The doctor said that he would give you the okay to leave from the hospital tomorrow. And we are not leaving before that" her hand squeezing my shoulder as she spoke.

"But I'm fine, call the doctor in. He can run any tests he wants to. I may not be feeling great but I can still rest on the plane on the way back" I told her, mimicking her business voice.

"Natalie?" I heard Stark's voice from the other side of the room.

"Right away Mr. Stark" Natasha said and left the room to get the doctor.

"You sure you are okay?" Stark asked as he came in closer. When I nodded my head the concern left his face and what came up was something similar to anger. But why in Hell would he be angry with me? But my question was answered soon as he opened his mouth before I got a chance to express my inner thoughts. "What the Hell were you thinking?" He asked, while his tone picked up a lot.

"Tony" Pepper warned.

"No. Let him speak" I cut Pepper off, giving Stark the chance to vent off.

He didn't lose a second. "What were you thinking, huh? Coming in there when a mad man was loose, with a clear agenda against me, and let me not mention the electric whips he had. I had to sit and watch helplessly as you beat each other up and as you somehow sent him flying towards me without even touching him? Wanna tell me what that was about? Huh? Do you have any idea how worried everyone was when you hit that wall and didn't get back up? You were helplessly laying inside a battlefield and the guy could easily turn against you and I didn't know if I would be fast enough to intervene. Do you have any idea how worried sick Pepper was?" He finished and pointed at the woman who was still standing by my side.

His angry face oh-so-present as he punched the wall with all his strength and let out, "Gosh Skye! I told you that I would not stand anything happening to you. I told you to be careful!", he exclaimed and I was sure that even people from outside the room would be able to hear him talking.

"You finished?" I asked after he remained quiet for a long time. He didn't answer and I took his silence as a yes. "What I was thing, _Stark_ , was that I could not stand and watch a guy who clearly had the upper hand beat you up. What I was thinking, was that I could buy enough time for Pepper and Happy to bring you Mark V. That I had more chances of making it out of this fight alive than you had, had you gone against him without your suit. And I _did_.

"Am I beaten up? Sure. But am I alive? Definitely. Don't pretend that if something similar happened to someone you cared about…" my eyes moving to Pepper's direction without her knowing, but Stark got the memo "… that you would do nothing about it. So yeah, I think that I was thinking pretty clearly when I entered that racetrack"

I would say more, but a knock on the door prevented me from continuing.

"Come in" said Pepper, obviously glad for the interruption.

Natasha's face appeared through the door. "The doctor is here".

"Great, send him in" Pepper said, once again really glad for the doctor's arrival. As a guy with a white robe came in I knew that the conversation that I had with Stark was over for now. But it was far from over in general…

* * *

 _Pepper's POV_

The hospital doctor was actually quite impressed with Skye's recovery and allowed her to travel that day, only if she would still be monitored for at least a week more by the Industries doctor's. So here we were, on the way back to Malibu.

Tony had disappeared for the last few hours, God knows where, and I was tired of sitting alone in the jet, so I went to check up on Skye. Happy had disappeared into the cockpit, giving Skye the whole of the back of the plane and some privacy. I knocked gently on the door that led to her seat and when I got no reply I, just as gently, opened it to see the girl sleeping on the seat.

I walked up to her, gently lowering the back of the seat, so that she was laying instead of sitting, and threw a blanket over her sleeping form. She seemed so innocent and at peace when she was asleep that it broke my heart a little bit. I didn't think that I had even seen her so relaxed even since I met her. I was sure that she wanted to stay awake for the journey back to the mansion, but it seemed that her system had shut down without her permission. I carefully tucked the blanket around her shoulders, making sure that she was warm while not touching her dislocated shoulder. I straightened my back, but I couldn't find the strength to leave. Bending down, I placed a small kiss at her forehead whispering for her to get well soon.

The calmness that I had when I went back to my seat was shattered in moments when I opened the TV and saw Senator Stern making a speech about the events on Monaco. Quite soon Tony came in and muted the television.

"He should be giving me a medal. That's the truth" he said as he sat down opposite to me and placed a tray with a fork and knife next to it.

"He should be giving Skye a medal" I replied, my eyes focusing on the tray, whose contents I could not see. "What is that?"

"This is your in-flight meal" he declared as he revealed a weird made omelette, looking at me in the eyes.

 _Wha–_ I thought and looked around, not sure where that came from. "Did you just make that?"

"Yeah" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Where do you thing I've been for three hours" and he sat hack, looking out of the window.

"Tony" I said carefully, trying to draw his attention back at me. "What are you not telling me?" I had a feeling that he was hiding stuff from me for quite a while now. And with the whole speech to Skye and the omelette, he could not cook to save his life. So something was definitely off here. He did turn to look at me, with one of the most genuine expressions that I had ever seen him wear. These wide eyes looking straight at mine let me know that what came next would be the truth and only the truth.

"I don't wanna go home… at all" he said exacerbated. "Let's cancel my birthday party and… We're in Europe. Let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?" How could I not? "It's a great place to… to… be healthy" he concluded.

"I don't think this is the right time" I answered back, shaking my head. My tone never rising about normal. "We're in kind of a mess. What about Skye? She needs to get back to the mansion and get better" I tried reasoning with him.

"Exactly" he said as if I just affirmed his words. "Maybe that's why it's the best time. I am thinking about Skye, she will have the time to relax, get away from the needs of the company".

"Well, I think as a CEO, I need to show up. And don't try to bring Skye into this. She will have a generous time-off when we go back, until she is ready to start working again. We both know she earned it". He made a move to open his mouth and for some reason I knew exactly what he was going to say, so I spoke before he managed to. "No… I cannot take a leave at a time like this, not now" this was Stark's way to get away from problems and how I, as his assistant, would end up cleaning after him.

"Well, I'm just saying, to recharge our batteries and figure it all out" he tried again.

I let out a sigh looking out of the window and at the setting sun. "Not everyone runs out of batteries Tony" and this was something that he didn't have an answer to.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

The moment we stepped into the mansion it was as if all Hell broke loose. The quite of the plane was instantly replaced with the sound of phones ringing all over the place, and TV screens displaying the news of several channels being open in the living room. Because of the time difference with Monaco, plus the hours spent on the flight we had basically lost almost a whole day and it seemed that a lot had happened in that day.

"Natalie, could you please take Skye to her room and make sure she doesn't overwork herself?" Pepper asked Natasha kindly.

It seemed that during some part of the flight or the events that occurred in Monaco, Natasha had become more of Pepper's assistant instead of Stark's. "Of course, Ms. Potts" the agent said with a forced smile, that only I could detect. "I will take your bag for you. Please, this way Ms. Skye" she said to me with the same tone, as she pointed up the stairs for me to go.

The second her form had passed my room door I closed the door and locked it. Natasha didn't even seemed phased by that, since it must have been something that she was expecting to happen.

I moved to my desk and opened the several computers that I was provided with for my work in the Industries. "Jar, we are not to be disturbed unless Pepper or Stark asks for either of us. Also, disable the recording equipment for this room. I shall switch it back on once we have finished here"

"Of course, Ms. Skye" came J.A.R.V.I.S.' immediate reply.

After making sure that everything was in order I moved to my bed and sat down. I made a gesture for Natasha to take the desk chair, since I figured that she would be more comfortable there, mostly because of the distance that this would create between us. When she didn't do as much as blink I let out a sigh. "We need to talk, right?"


	34. Sisters By Choice

**AN: It's finally here! It was about time that Natasha and Skye had a heart to heart. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, it was a blast writing it. And, of course, thanks to my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123._**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"We need to talk, right?" I said and could see that Natasha was wearing her famous "Assassin Mask". I was one of the few people, alongside with Clint, Phil and May, that could see behind it. "Am I gonna do the talking or are you?" I prompted, hoping to get a reply. Of course I got none, not that I had high hopes for the opposite.

Natasha just stood there, her arms folded at her chest, which was rising steadily with each breath as she kept her heart rate steady. "How have you been?" I tried with a bit of a playful tone, only to get the same lack of response. We stayed like that, engulfed in silence that was getting more awkward by the second. My eyes couldn't meet hers and finally rested on the ground, not looking anything in particular. I knew that she wasn't going to talk, I knew that she was angry, but I never had this problem of her shutting me out and it had an uneasy feeling rise to my chest. Close to my heart, as if someone had grabbed it and was slowly squeezing. We might had been only a few feet apart, but I felt like I had lost her already.

"What do you want me to say?" I finally gave in. "That I am sorry I left without leaving a trace behind? I cannot lie to you and say that I am, because I am not. I know I did what I had to protect you guys and I will always do that". The memories of the nightmare that had caused an earthquake in New York, as well as many similar ones that I had had during my alone time came rushing through my mind, but I pushed them aside. _No, this is different,_ I said to myself.

"I kept tabs on everyone, you know? Kept hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. just to make sure that everyone was okay. I read about all the missions that you and Clint went together, about Phil's missions that Fury send him all over the world as his second in command. And about May… well, you know, her transferring to Admin. And other people as well" she knew who I was talking about, so there was no need for any explanations. "By the way the room is soundproof, you can yell at me all you want. I know that you are angry so please, go ahead. Anything will be better than the cold shoulder that I am getting from you right now" I whispered the last part, my voice going smaller than I would have like.

It was a few good and far-stretched minutes before Natasha spoke. "We could have helped you".

At that moment I lifted my eyes and met hers. " _Helped me?_ We both know that that's bullshit Natasha. S.H.I.E.L.D. would take the first opportunity to put me in a lab and make me their pet lab. See how my powers worked after tons of experiments. And seriously now? We? When did you become so indulged into the agent part, so loyal to them?"

What came next took me completely by surprise. She came in close, faster than I had expected, and slapped me hard on the cheek, not caring for the concussion that I had earned myself only the previous day.

It took me a few moments to get my bearing, and she waited patiently for me to do so before she spoke. "How can you think that I meant _S.H.I.E.L.D._? I would never let them get their hands on you had I known about your powers. You know very well the people that I am referring to. Because we all care about you just as much as you care about us. Maybe more, considering all the energy and time that we put into trying to track you down when you obviously didn't want to be found. And you do, what? Leave without leaving a trace, disappearing all together and all any of us get is you sending me a message four freaking years later?"

"You have every right to be angry" I told her.

"I am not angry" she countered. "I am disappointed and… hurt. You know how hard it is for me to let people in. And yet I allow you, time after time, when you clearly don't share the same feelings for me" every word was emotionless.

My heart rate was spiking up after hearing her words. "What are you–?"

"It seems that your new best pal, Potts, knows more stuff about your life in the past few years than me. She knew about your powers, didn't she?" She asked, but her tone let me know that she knew the answer already. She scoffed when I didn't reply and just dropped my head. I could feel the sting in my eye growing be the minute. "I thought so. So, what? You've been with her for how long? Two weeks max? And still you told her. I know you for way longer, I have particularly raised you. And yet you trust her more than me? Or were you not trusting me enough to keep your secret from Fury? So, yeah, I may be a little hurt but I believe that I have every right to be".

I could not help it. Her words were too similar to the nightmares, our relationship was practically destroyed and I had only myself to blame. My hands wrapped around my bent knees, not caring about the protests that my left shoulder was sending me. I rested my head on top of my knees and let the tears fall free, not being able to hold them in for any longer.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" I kept repeating in between sobs. "I know that this is all my fault. I wanted to tell you, but didn't know how" I was not sure if she could understand what I was saying, but I just wanted to take this off my chest. After not getting any reaction from Natasha I added, "I can understand if you don't want to be sisters anymore".

The last part was only a whisper. Inner fears finally materialising in the form of words.

I did not hear anything after that. My heart beating loudly in my ears, and that along with my sobs was the only things that I could hear. I did not get any reply for quite some time, or even if I did I was not sure I would be able to hear it in the state that I was in. It must have been minutes since I spoke, and the silence let me guess that Natasha had just agreed and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I startled and flinched when a hand landed on my shoulder. I didn't think that I could stand it if she just wanted me to look at her so that she could agree with me.

Her hand, that had been retrieved when I first flinched, landed once more on my good shoulder and I couldn't find the energy to move it away. "Skye" Natasha's voice was soft, not the robotic one that she previously had. "Skye, look at me" she continued only for me to shake my head.

I didn't know how, I really didn't, but she somehow managed to grab my chin and lift my head. Hers was just centimetres from mine, but I still looked down unable to face her in such a close range. "Look at me" she said once more and with her other hand brushed a tear that was running down my cheek. The moment I looked up she spoke.

"You will always be my sister, okay? Always and nothing is going to change that. I might be hurt by you pushing me away, but I will always come looking for you. No matter what. This is what families do. We protect and take care of each other" both her smile and soft tone were genuine to the bone. "I will always be your sister" she leaned in and rested her forehead to mine. " _Always_ "

I let my legs unwrap and fall of the bed, as I hugged Nat. Holding her like a lifeline, she returned the gesture. The silence that the room was now in was not an uncomfortable one.

"I missed you so much" I whispered in her ear.

"I missed you too" she said back. The smile on my face was not a forced one and I had a feeling that she had the same expression as me.


	35. Insecurities Coming Out

**AN: Have a good weekend everyone. Many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Also, I just remembered... I changed the timeline of Iron Man 2 a little bit, because Skye was hurt in Monaco and they didn't return to the US at the same time as in the movie. So, I delayed Tony's birthday party a whole day as well. I know it's a minor detail, I just wanted to let you know in case you watched the movie recently. Please, enjoy :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

The night was not as long as I thought it would be. Since I had slept on the way back, on the jet, I was waiting for my batteries to be fully charged when we arrived at the mansion. I didn't know whether it was the talk with Natasha that exhausted me, or if it was my system trying to heal up as quickly as possible.

I continued talking with my sister, but I dozed off. I had dozed off now at least 3 times in the last couple of days and I didn't want to make a habit out of it. But, as tiredness took over, I didn't even try to fight it off. I closed my eyes, while I was leaning back on the wall next to my bed. When I woke I was tucked in my blankets and lying down on the bed, with a pillow under my head. This brought a small smile on my face and it reminded me the way that I had woken up in the Starks jet. Pepper must have been the one who did that. I should really thank her for that.

I got out of the bed, changed with quite a bit of difficulty because of my slanged arm and broken ribs, which protested whenever I lifted my hand above my shoulder's length. _Finally,_ after what seems forever, I made my way downstairs.

The previous day's chaos still existed, only on a much smaller scale.

Pepper and Natasha were in the living room, sitting on opposite sofas, as papers were spread all around them. They would occasionally speak to one another, and continue their work in silence. The tips of my mouth titled up while I was looking at them. They were really good partners. And with Natasha taking undercover as seriously as she did, I had no doubt that she was helping Pepper as much as possible, which was way more than any other assistant would have.

"Hey, you're up" Pepper's voice echoed through the room, making me focus back on the present. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she got up and made her way to where I was standing.

"I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking. I also wanted to thank you for taking care of me in the jet" I said with genuine words.

"Please" she waved my thanks off with a wave of her hand. "It was nothing you should thank me for. It was the least that I could do" she carefully and hesitantly wrapped her arms around me. Just as hesitantly I placed my right hand on her back. "I'm just really glad that you are okay. If you need anything, and I mean _anything,_ don't hesitate to ask" she quietly said in my ear so that Natasha wouldn't hear.

My gaze darted to my sister's direction who was still working on her papers, but I could see that she was watching us from the corner of her eye. "I've got everything I need, don't worry" I replied a little louder than the tone that Pepper previously used. The brief smile on Natasha's lips was all I needed to see. I moved back, letting Pepper know that she could unwrap her hands from around me.

"Any plans for today?" She asked as she walked back to the sofa that she was previously sitting on.

"It's Stark's birthday party tonight, isn't it?"

"Exactly, so are you gonna go shopping? Wear something nice for a change tonight?" She had a playful tone in her voice that I had to hear since before she became CEO.

However, I shook my head as I said, "I wouldn't feel comfortable going out in the public so soon after the incident. Maybe you could arrange something for me and I'll give you the money?" I asked, knowing that she wouldn't leave such an opportunity escape her grasps. I saw a huge smile that was reaching her ears appear on her face and it warmed my heart. After all that was going on ever since she became in charge she deserved something more relaxing that would brighten up her day a little bit. And since she would never loose time to go for a massage, this would have to do.

"I will definitely do so" she declared. "And don't worry about the bill, I'll take care of it".

"No, please. I cannot accept you paying for it as well. You've done enough" I told her, with a stern voice and pleading eyes to not pressure the subject more.

"Fine" she ended up giving in with a long sigh. "But, if not for the shopping, what are you going to do until the time for the party arrives?"

I rubbed my neck with my good hand in this question. I had really not thought about what I was going to do all day and I was not allowed to go back to work just yet. There were also some things that I would like to discuss with Natasha, but I could not in front of Pepper. As if hit by lightning, my eyes sparked with the fresh idea that came to my mind.

"I could help Ms. Rushman get used to the Industries' technology. Walk her through the several servers so that she is more used to our systems and the way they work. It will make both your lives much easier if she can fill paperwork and find archives as fast as possible?" I tried, not sure how convincing I would be.

"Skye…" Pepper glared with her look that let me know she was serious.

"Hear me out. I will not work, I promise. And Ms. Rushman can make sure that I stay well away from the computers. I will just guide her and show her how everything works" I turned to look to Natasha, nodding and hoping that she got my message.

"I will make sure that she doesn't strain herself. Truth is I could use some help learning how exactly the system is ran in the company" Natasha's voice seemed so ill and faked in my ears. But Pepper appeared to be satisfied with the answer and seemed to trust Natasha, or should I say _Natalie_ , enough to keep an eye on me, so she nodded. "Lead the way Ms. Skye" came the assistant's next words.

"Please, call me Skye" I said back and started heading to the main computer room of the mansion, where I had more freedom in working with multiple computers at the same time.

"Then please, feel free to call me Natalie" she instantly replied, making sure that we were within Pepper's hearing range so that she knew what was going on. It would be really awkward if we started talking to each other in the first person with no explanation to the CEO. Presumably, we had only met the previous day when she waited for me to wake up at the hospital.

The moment we stepped into the desired location the door behind us was closed and the recording system switched off just like the previous night.

After neither of us spoke for a few minutes, Nat broke the silence. "We both know that I am an expert with the computers" at that I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Fine. Maybe a little less of an expert than you are. So, what do you want to talk about? You know, I really need to do some of the paperwork because otherwise my position as Potts' assistant won't last long and if you haven't figured it out already, Stark needs monitoring" she said all with one breath.

After a couple of moments contemplating how I should start, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You know I was expecting more questions from you, right?"

"We both know that you weren't going to answer any of them if you didn't want to. So what's the point of even asking?" She scoffed and leaned on the wall with her arms wrapped against her chest. "You can ask away though. Unless it's classified I don't see a reason why I wouldn't be able to answer your questions" she pointed at a rolling chair for me to seat, since my ribs had started to hurt. I gladly did as I was told, which brought a concerning look wash over Natasha's features. "You okay? Need me to get some ice?" She had already moved from the wall and was next to the door, ready to exit instantly if need be.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just sit" I tried to reassure her. I knew that she wasn't convinced but she didn't argue, though she stayed by the door, just in case.

There were a million questions and alternatives going through my mind at that point. What could happen in the future, what happened in the past, as well as what was going on right now. I knew that many of my choices had affected the people around me and I didn't want that to happen to the people that I cared again. Not if it was something that I could control.

"What's going on Skye? What's wrong?" Natasha had come close to me and was crouching down, placing a hand on my knee. To my credit I didn't flinch or show how lost I was in my own thoughts. It was a habit that both she and Hill had tried to make disappear but neither had succeeded. Without thinking about it too much, I placed my hand on top of hers and smiled sadly. "I don't want to lose you again" was all I said and Nat understood right away.

"You are not–"

"You cannot promise that" I interrupted before she even formed a sentence that I knew would be her immediate answer. "You cannot promise that once S.H.I.E.L.D. learns about me that they won't separate us. And I know that you won't tell them about me until I allow you to, which is why they have yet to run through the doors" at that I squeezed my hand and my sister did the same. "But I cannot make you keep such a secret when it would mean endangering your position. So, we will go together to the director for me to explain myself once all of this is over. But not before I make sure that Pepper is fine, because in case you haven't noticed Stark is quite a handful, wouldn't you think?" I smirked and was glad to receive a laugh as a reply.

"Of course" Nat reassured and stroked my knee with her thumb. Then she moved in her position a little bit and I knew that a question was coming. "Why do you care about her so much?"

I contemplated the answer for quite a while. Not really sure how to put the feelings that I had for Pepper into words. It was a more complicated situation than I had initially thought it would be. Plus, I had never imagined meeting someone like her after all the years I had spent alone. "I don't know" I started absent minded. I let out a small laugh and leaned further back into my chair. "I honestly don't. I just know that I do"

I was relieved to see Natasha wearing a smile on her face and not being hurt by this statement. "I guess she reminds me of Mel sometimes".

With that a pair of laughter echoed through the room. "Yeah" Nat said between breaths. "Ι guess you could say that", she added only I didn't hear the strain in her voice.


	36. Let's Get This Party Started

**AN: Hello! Let's start with... lots of thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ And another thank you to the people who review as well as the new fan and fol. Without further due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

The rest of the day went by pretty simply. I did show Natasha around the Stark computer systems, but not deep enough for her to actually send information regarding the Industries back to S.H.I.E.L.D.. She didn't push in that matter and so we spent the rest of the afternoon in a comfortable silence, which was broken more often than not as we caught up on what had happened in our lives the years that we were apart.

Stark's party would start in the early evening, with him not wanting to waste any time from it. He had not pushed at all about him seeing me using my powers and I had that in the back of my mind. Mostly I was waiting for the topic to come up again, and wanted to be prepared for whenever that would happen. I knew I had successfully deleted every electronic evidence of my presence in the track that day, because _come on,_ there was no-one better than me in hacking. I still had some reservations for any evidence of my face in any printed form, but nothing had appeared so far. So I could only assume that I was fast enough for prints not to have been created before I erased the digital copies.

Pepper had brought me my outfit for the evening. She was kind enough to help me wear it because my shoulder had yet to be healed enough as to not give me any trouble.

"Oh, Skye…" Pepper said when we finished assembling the whole thing, along with a simple silver chain that she borrowed me as a necklace. "You look amazing" she smiled kindly.

"Thanks" I said, rubbing the back of my neck and trying very hard not to blush from her comment. "I have to thank you for that, you were the one to get me the dress" I looked myself at the long mirror in my room. It was a simple, loose and sleeveless dress which almost reached my knees. I was glad to find that I could walk around easily. The fact that the dress was sleeveless allowed the sling that I was wearing to move with no restrain. "You seem to have thought every need that I might have" I laughed a bit and turned my gaze to meet hers.

"Well" she laughed with me and moved to stand behind me and placed both hands on my shoulders as she turned my face to look back in the mirror. "I had a feeling this would be one of the only times that I would get the chance to see you in a dress, so you might as well enjoy it. I'm glad you like it"

"What are you going to wear?" I asked and at that moment she moved a step away and looked at her clock.

"Something similar to yours. It's going to be pretty packed tonight and I want to be able to move around and make sure no-one gets out of line". Though she didn't speak of the name, I knew that she was referring to Stark. "Speaking of which, I really need to go and get ready" she waved a goodbye at me and left me alone in the room.

I looked at my reflection once again in the mirror and took a deep breath. I had a feeling that it was going to be a very long night.

* * *

It was not too long before the night turned into a disaster. And let me define the word "disaster" so that you know what I was referring to.

Tony Stark. In his suit. Drunk. Dancing. And blasting items all over the mansion.

People had filled the mansion, and by people I meant, mostly, women of a specific age and type. All of whom were so happy to be witnessing Stark blasting items that they had no idea how dangerous or how bad this could turn out with the slightest mistake. The only positive in this whole situation was that the DJ had a pretty decent music taste and the music was not one more reason for me to lose interest in that party.

I soon found Pepper outside, no drink in her hand, and looking into the nothingness of the sea that the mansion was next to. "I thought that you would be inside, trying to keep Stark in line"

She laughed. A laugh that was clearly dead. "I don't know what to do"

Well, this was a first. No matter how many times Stark had put Pepper into a difficult situation, she always figured a way out. Stark was pushing it too hard and I had no idea what was going on in his mind. The little respect that I had for his inventions was running thin ever since I was employed by him and saw how he treated one of the few people who truly cared for him.

I lifted my hand, were I was holding my phone. I typed a few lines and read the reply that I got from the device. "I think you should go inside. Lt. Colonel Rhodes is approaching the mansion and should arrive any minute now. I believe that together you will manage to put Stark in line" I told her, smirking and making a move to go inside myself.

"How did you–" Pepper started only to see the phone in my hand. She clicked her tongue and stepped next to me, heading back towards the party. "Skye" she sounded disappointed, but the look that she gave me was that of gratitude.

"You're welcome. I'll be in my room if you need anything" I simply replied and headed upstairs.

The moment that I closed the door of my room, all the party sounds seized to exist. I let out a sigh and was mentally thanking Stark for making every room soundproof, as long as the doors were closed.

I took out my laptop and got into the building surveillance cameras, and switching from camera to camera, I was watching what was going on around the house, as if I was watching a reality show. All I needed to make the show even better would be some popcorn and I would be set for at least a few more hours. I started watching what was happening as if it was a silent film and made the dialogues up in my head. It was pretty funny to be honest, especially what I was thinking that Stark's reply would be especially since I knew that he would never say stuff like "I know Pepper. I am an idiot", or "Do you know how much I love you?" I had high hopes for the last part, only because I knew that he was completely drunk.

But, he eventually took the microphone, said something and then send a blast to the wall and shuttered the glass all over, while everyone took cover. I immediately turned the sound on just as the whole room started laughing and a girl through a bottle high in the air for the playboy to blast. And boy he delivered. Bottle after bottle and finally a whole watermelon were blasted.

My eyes were glued on the screen as Stark stumbled and almost fell, before a heavy toned voice interrupted the laughter that was ringing in the room. "I'm gonna say this once" I switched cameras only to see Lt. Colonel in an Iron Man suit, with his serious face on. "Get out" he continued and the crowd started immediately dispersing.

This would be a good time for me to go with the crowd.

Despite the room being soundproof, I can still hear the fight going on in the level right beneath me. I could imagine Rhodes and Stark throwing each other through different rooms. I was out of my room and headed to the stairs when a loud _crash_ originated from the room next to me and I couldn't help my curiosity. I peeked inside and saw Stark on the floor next to a huge hole, when Rhodes was ascending from within his Mark II suit. Before he had a chance to see me I bolted to the stairs and made my way downstairs.

I saw Natasha and Pepper having an argument and I wanted to make my way to them, only I was not fast enough. Tony came rushing through the room, landing exactly between me and the two women.

Happy quickly entered and rushed Pepper out of the house, while her eyes were looking around, probably for me. Just as Stark grabbed Rhode's wrist and started dragging him across the room Natasha screamed my name. "This way!", she continued and she held her hand for me to take while the fighting duo continued their show. I didn't hesitate in the slightest when I reached for her hand and together we left through another exit of the mansion.

There was a moment of quiet which I knew was not a good sign. It reminded me of every movie that I had seen, when there was a moment of absolute silence before something happened. And soon I was proven right.

An explosion went out from the house, blasting the door that we had just crossed and sending us flying a few good feet only to land on the hard concrete. And, _of course,_ I had to be unlucky and land on my bad shoulder. Because, why not? Luck didn't seem to be on my side for years now, why would that suddenly change?

"You okay?" I faintly heard as Natasha came and crouched next to me.

 _No,_ was what I was thinking at the moment but replied with a "Yes" though greeted teeth. My right hand found its way to the injured shoulder and was holding it tightly. It was as if I was afraid that if I let go, my shoulder would fall off my body. And the hurting ribs didn't help in my try to conceal my pain.

"Let me see" Nat said and gently moved my hand away so that she could inspect what had happened. She pocked it in a few placed, both in my shoulder blade and sternum, gentle but it still hurt. I tried really hard not to cry out in pain or let a whimper, or even a wis, leave my mouth. However her, ever so observant, eyes picked up on my discomfort and she let go, making way for my hand to grab it once again. "Thankfully it didn't get dislocated, _again._ But it did set your healing back to how it was when you hurt it from the fight. And your ribs don't look any better for the wear. Sorry" she apologised.

"Not your fault" I said after a few moments, my eyes darted to the destroyed mansion. An Iron Man suit flying off caught my eye. But only one, a silver coloured one, which meant that Tony was still in there.

"You should go back to Pepper, she is definitely looking for you" Natasha's voice cut my thoughts short.

My eyebrows furrowed as I turned to her. "You are not coming with me?"

"I have to contact Fury. Stark is completely out of line and he needs to do something. _Now_. If he continues like that he will be a public danger" she spoke as she helped me up.

"You know what's wrong with him?" I asked, but it was more of a statement. She nodded, but said nothing more. "Classified. Got it" I touched her arm and she lifted her face. "Go, I'll cover for you" a small smile played on my lips, but was soon replaced by a grimace as my shoulder sent a pain wave out of the blue. Nat made a move to help me out, but I stopped her. "I'll be alright. Go" and with my chin I pointed to the opposite direction from where I was heading. "See you soon?" I voiced loudly before she disappeared from my sight.

"Count on it!" She said back and her form disappeared in the shadows of the night.

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

I left Skye to go to Pepper, as I made my way to the vehicle that I had, thankfully, parked quite far from the mansion and so it was still in one piece.

I picked up my phone and as soon as Phil Coulson picked up I said "It's secure" before he even had the chance to ask about the line.

 _"_ _What's going on, Romanoff?"_ Fury soon came through the speaker, his voice oh so indifferent, though I could pick up the urgent tone that was hidden underneath.

"He is in a self destructive path and Lt. Colonel Rhodes just flew off with one of his suits, after properly destroying the mansion in Malibu". I heard Fury clicking his tongue and mutter several curse words, though I knew none of them were directed to me. A long period of silence followed, letting me know that he was thinking of a plan. "What are my orders, sir?"

He let out a heavy sigh. _"Return to base. We regroup and will meet him first thing in the morning"_

"Understood".

But before I made a move to hang up he continued. _"Is Skye safe? Are you gonna bring her with you?"_

It was my turn to let out a sigh. "No, not this time but soon. As soon as this whole mess with Stark is over. She wants to make sure that Potts is fine before she leaves, but she said that she would come"

Fury seemed to contemplate my words since he didn't reply right away. _"How are you so sure she will come?"_ He eventually asked.

"I trust her. She wouldn't lie to me". This seemed to be all that Fury needed to hear. "Just a reminder, Stark has no idea of our connection to Skye, or more specifically mine. Also, Skye has no idea that you know. I know that this whole 'Skye' situation is between us, but I would like to keep it this way".

 _"_ _Yes, Romanoff. See you soon"_ he finished and hung up.


	37. The Aftermath

**AN: As always, _MegaDiary123_ was the Beta for this chapter. On behalf of both of us, I wanted to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. We reached 100 followers and I really appreciate every single one of you for supporting this. Thank you.**

 _All_ _rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Finding Pepper turned out to be a little harder than I had initially anticipated. That was mainly due to the destroyed building that separated us. It must have been at least ten minutes, or at least this is how much time I thought had passed, since Natasha left to inform Fury before I saw the CEO. I was still clutching my bad shoulder and when she noticed me moving towards her she came running in my direction.

She didn't ask any questions, just wrapped an arm around me and led me to the car, always careful not to put too much pressure to any of my aching parts. Both of us sat on the backseats, as Happy drove us to Pepper's apartment in Malibu, the one where she would live when not in the mansion.

"How much pain are you in?" She asked when we crossed the door and headed to the living room.

"I fell on my shoulder when the explosion occurred, and the fall didn't help the ribs either" I replied honestly, knowing that Pepper would be able to detect any lies. "They are the same state as when I woke in the hospital, but with some rest they should heal properly". I sat on the sofa, the adrenaline rush had long disappeared from my system and I was starting to feel tired. I was looking at the floor when Pepper came to sit next to me and she placed a hand on my back.

"What's wrong?"

"All of my stuff where in the mansion. Do you mind if Happy drives me there tomorrow to see if anything survived?" I rubbed my eyes with my hand as my thoughts went to a particular item that I wished was still intact.

"We will go together, but now you need to get some sleep. We both do" she tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

It was my turn to pat her back. "It's okay, I'll go alone. You need to go to the Enterprises and short everything out". I could see that she was about to argue and I cut her short. "No _buts._ You have work to do. If you could only lend me a set of clothes to sleep in and I'll take the couch. _Yes,_ the couch and I am not taking no for an answer"

* * *

First thing in the morning, even before Happy drove Pepper to work, he took me to the mansion. It was weirdly quiet and empty, I was at least expecting Tony to be lying somewhere on the floor, pitying himself.

I quickly made my way to my room, which was more or less destroyed. The painkillers that I had taken the same morning were still kicking in, allowing me to move my shoulder around and search for the item of interest more easily. First I went to the closet and checked every bag there. Finding them all empty, I grabbed one of them and stuffed it with my remaining clothes. I hadn't had much before, but now they were even less. I had a feeling that Pepper would take this chance as soon as she could afford a day-off and go shopping with me.

Then I started looking all over the room. Under the broken desk, or the bed. I was not sure how long I had spent looking, but it must have been long enough for Happy to come upstairs.

"We need to go. I need to take Pepper to the Industries" he said with a final tone.

"Just give me one more minute" I replied, never slowing down my research.

He sighed and from the corner of my eye I could see him unfold his arms, which he had crossed over his chest. "You know, if you tell me what you are looking for it would be easier for me to help you find it" he said and crouched next to me, searching the floor for anything that could be of interest to me.

I momentarily stopped, before resuming what I was doing. "Why do you suddenly care so much? Don't get me wrong, but I thought that you didn't like me"

He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at me. It took him a while before he found the right words to express what was on his mind. "I didn't in the beginning" he finally admitted. "But you've helped a lot since you came, both Pepper and Tony, especially Pepper. I thought I would give you a chance, so don't waste it" his tone was sincere as the smallest smile appeared on his face. "Now, what are we looking for?"

I returned the smile and lifted my gaze to meet his. "A hula girl"

He furrowed his brows as he took in what he just heard. "You mean _the_ hula girl that you take everywhere with you?" I glanced at him with a question mark clear as day on my face. "I've seen how much you care about that thing, it was quite easy to notice to be honest…" his voice grew softer by the end of the sentence. "Have you checked the luggage that you took with you to Monaco?" He concluded.

 _That's it!_ I mentally screamed and went towards the said luggage. It was not with the other bags on my closet, since I had yet to unpack it and before the explosion is was sitting close to my bed.

"Let me" Happy said as he helped move the item, which was buried underneath a heavy rock.

As soon as I was able to, I unzipped the luggage and searched frantically inside. It was there, unharmed and whole as when I first got it. I let out a heavy sigh and sat on the floor, clutching the item on my hand. "Thank you" I spoke to Happy who was looking at the whole exchange with curious eyes.

"You're welcome" he got up and offered me his hand to help me up as well, which I took without a second thought. We soon were back in the car, some of the clothes that survived in the trunk, and we headed back to Pepper's apartment to pick her up. "Why do you care so much about the hula girl by the way?" Happy asked and from his tone I could tell that he was contemplating whether he could ask or not.

I looked down at the shaking girl, a smile playing on my lips without my intention as memories flooded my brain. "It was a gift" the feeling that spread through my body kept me all warm and fuzzy until we picked Pepper and reached the Industries building.

Pepper went to her office and I headed to the computer lab, just to check how everyone was working. So far I had only worked from my office in the Stark Tower, or the smaller one, that now was probably smashed, in the mansion. So, even though I was the head of cyber security, I had yet to meet any of the people who were kind of working for me. I had to reassure Pepper that I would not work, just supervise and make notes as to potential changes that might needed to take place.

And so I did. For about thirty minutes before I got bored to death, not being able to touch a computer and all, and I headed upstairs to where the CEO's office was.

I was almost at the secretary's desk when I noticed Natasha on the other side of the room and rushed to her side. She was not as relaxed as she had been the previous days. "Good morning, Natalie" I said with the steadiest voice I could master.

She looked at me, then her clock and back at me. "Good morning, indeed, Skye. How is your shoulder?" We entered the building's elevator.

"Healing, slowly. Thank you for your concern" I replied politely and waited for the doors to close before truly looking at Nat. "Are you okay? You seem a bit on edge…" I immediately asked, concern leaking into my expression. She titled her head to the side, with a silent question and I scoffed. "Please, I know you better than most people do" I disregarded her. "I'm guessing Tony knows?"

She straightened her back, holding tightly the documents in her hands as she coughed to clear her throat. "He does, and I wouldn't be surprised if he came over at some point today. Did Potts ask where I was?"

I saw the, clear as day, change of subject but didn't push her any more. "No, actually she didn't. I think she was too shaken up by what happened to truly process your disappearance". Supposing that she wanted to reach her office, which by my calculations was only one floor away, I quickly added before the elevator doors opened again. "If he tries anything, he will have to do with me" I tried to reassure her and just like that we were back at our role play.

Of course, it turned out that Natasha was right and Tony did come into the building. For better or worse that was while we were getting ready to departure back to New York because we needed to make an appearance for the Stark Expo. Especially since Hammer Industries would have the main pavilion for tonight, making a big presentation.

We met Happy on the way to the office, who was carrying our luggage and I send him a small smile, which he returned. It seemed that we had made progress.

"Ms. Potts?" Natasha asked as she opened the door to the office.

Seeing Tony there, I could tell why Pepper suddenly seemed so relieve by our presence. "Hi, come in"

Natasha moved closer to the office as she announced "Wheels up in 25 minutes", her eyes never leaving Tony's form. When she received Pepper's "Thank you", it was Happy's turn to speak.

"Anything else, boss?" He asked and was clearly looking at Pepper, but Tony couldn't help it and replied on top of her.

I had remained silent during the whole exchange, observing carefully and ready to intervene in case Tony went out of line. He looked between the three of us. "I lost all the kids in the divorce" he said, always making fun of a serious situation as he laughed. He turned his head from one person to the other, until he met my eyes and I shook my head. Then his face grew more serious and his chair was facing the desk where Pepper and Natasha were. "Are you blending in well, Natalie? Here at Stark Enterprises?" My sister shot him a glare. If looks could kill then Tony would have been dead by now. "Your name is Natalie, isn't it? I thought you two didn't get along" he pointed between the two women.

"No, Tony. They get along just fine" I said defending Nat as I had promised.

"Oh, it's just me she doesn't care for". Then he turned his head to me. "Since when did you start using first-name basis with me?", he curiously asked.

"Since you lost the little respect I had for you" I simply replied and Pepper found that moment to cut in.

"Actually, while you're here, maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings" she waited to get the affirmative from Nat and then her eyes pointed to the exit, a clear sign for me to follow her. First Pepper went out of the room, followed by Happy and me at the end. I could hear Tony speaking to Natasha before the door was even closed. And I had to muster all my self-control not to get back in that office.


	38. The Showdown

**AN: Good afternoon. Let's start with the usual, which is the many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Just so you know, this is the last chapter with Iron Man 2 content. I am not going to say anything else, so please enjoy.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

We eventually reached New York and made our way to the Stark Expo. I had no idea what Natasha and Tony talked about when we left with Pepper, but even I could not read Natasha's expression. Though the slight tenseness in her muscles was hard to ignore.

As representatives of the Stark Industries, and given that we were at _Stark_ Expo, we had pretty good seats. We were quite close to the stage and had a good view of whatever happened on top of it. Pepper was sitting in between Natasha and myself, which was convenient for me. If I was positioned right next to my sister, in the back of my mind I would constantly want to ask what happened with the billionaire, but now that I had Pepper there I could focus on what Hammer had to present.

Soon the man came on the pavilion. Of course dancing while walking on the stage, as if we didn't already know how jealous he was of Tony. Trying to make everything better by copying his rival's moves. At least Tony had the decency to hire dancers for the song, while he came on stage in his Iron Man suit. Watching Hammer dance his way through made my eyes hurt and I had to turn away until he started talking and I was positive that he had completed his so called "routine".

But then, he started talking and it all got worse.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long this country has had to place its brave men and women in harm's way. But then the Iron Man arrived and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us. Sadly that technology was kept out of reach. That's not fair, that's not right. That's just too bad…"

I had closed my eyes when I head Pepper exclaim, "Oh, Lord" next to me.

I had to roll my eyes because, seriously? This guy? He spoke like a four year old whose vocabulary only had a handful of words in its disposal and he was a businessman for crying out loud. I mean, _come on!_

He kept on talking and I tried not to focus on what he was saying, until I heard him start talking about a "new face in the US military". And he introduced the Hammer drone. The drones started making their way to the stage and all three of us started exchanging glances.

The drones seemed to have something like a reactor similar to Tony's where the heart was supposed to be. I could see the look of distress in Natasha's face and who would occasionally look around, until the huge bomb hit us. When Lt. Colonel Rhodes, in a weapon advanced Iron Man suit appeared on stage claiming to pilot the drones. The suit must have been Mark II, the one that he left with when he disappeared from the mansion after the whole fight-with-Tony fiasco. But the weapons were not in the initial design. It appeared that Hammer tech made some "improvements".

"What?" Pepper asked, not able to believe that Rhodey, as she and Tony called him, was a part of all of this.

He saluted to all the audience, taking his place among the drones, but no sooner had he left his hand fall to its resting place that Tony's Iron Man suit was heard approaching. The whole Expo was instantly silenced and everyone turned their heads to the sky in search for the source of the sound. And, oh boy, Tony didn't fail to deliver. Landing in one knee with a heavy *thumb* on the stage as the crowd went wild.

 _What the hell is he doing here?_ I mentally questioned and got up as well to be able to see what was going on in the stage.

Though no-one could hear what he was saying, he spoke to Rhodes first and then moved towards Hammer who was backing away. "Where is he? Where's Vanko?" He asked and the microphones picked up on it.

The name had yet to leave my memory, since he was the guy who attacked the racetrack. But, I thought he was dead? I turned my face and looked at Nat, who picked up on Tony's question as well. Pepper had her serious face on as well, looking at the whole exchange between the two men. And then, Rhodes activated his weapon, aiming it straight at Tony.

Tony backed away, as most of the other drones aimed their guns on him as well. Following in the same steps as him, the three of us started backing away and making our way backstage, when Iron Man flew away and the drones, along with Rhodes, started firing at him.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as the drones that were left on the stage started making their way towards the crowd. We were running against the others, who were going out of the Expo.

Heading in the back, we heard a distressed Hammer talking to his guys. "Well then call their… call their cells" and one of his guys replied. "The cell phones aren't working either, sir. He's locked us out of the mainframe"

"Who's locked you out of the mainframe?" Pepper demanded moving in closer, with Natasha and me on her heels.

"Please, please. Go away, go away. I've got this handled" Hammer stepped in front of the computer screens and raised his hands to push Pepper away. "Have you now?" She all but screamed to his face and he had the nerve to say, "Yes, I do. In fact if your guy hadn't showed up, this wouldn't be happening" Oh, he was asking for it. "So please no, _go away_. Thank you" he showed the exit door to Pepper once more and he turned his back on us, talking with his IT guy.

I looked at Nat, who looked ready to drive her fist into his face, but I made the first move, not letting her take the lead. I didn't need two arms to get the answer that I needed to give to Natasha.

I used my right hand to grab his and twisted it behind his back. He yelped, not expecting the sudden pain that cursed though his wrist and shoulder, as I pressed him on the desk and pushed him down. "You tell me who's behind this" I said in his ear, just as Natasha had once taught me. When he didn't reply, I pushed harder and asked again, "Who's behind this?", in a more demanding voice.

"Ivan– Ivan Vanko"

I could almost feel my pupils growing at the name. "Where is he?"

"He's at my facility" Hammer didn't hesitate to say and I could hear the strain in his voice. He was in pain, good. This meant he was telling the truth.

I released him and turned around, just as Nat started making her way out of here. I made a move to follow her but she stopped and turned to me. "You are staying put" her voice was so demanding that there was no room for me to disagree, but I did so nonetheless.

"I am coming with you" I declared. "You need all the help you can get and even in my current state I can be of help" I met her gaze with just as much relentlessness.

"You want to help? Stay here and monitor the system. Try to hack back into what Vanko is doing at Hammer Industries and shut the droids down" she gave me an earpiece. "Talk to me through here if anything happens" and with that she left.

I looked back at Pepper who had just made a call to the NYPD and I went to the computer. The guy who was previously sitting there got up when I basically dragged his off his seat. "Tell me everything you know" I said with a stern voice, as I started making my way through Hammer's system using both hands. Screw the pain that I felt in my shoulder and ribs from the strain of the movement, this was more important.

I start making my way through the back doors of the systems, and every time I tried something Ivan blocked me out. Oh, this was a challenge that I hadn't had in information that the Hammer tech guy gave me were not very helpful and while I read the endless rows and lines of coding I was making my own assumptions about what was happening.

Pepper was over my head, her eyes moving rapidly as she tried to figure out what was going on in the screen. The final set of drones that was left on stage finally flew off just as another section of the computer turned green.

I knew what this meant, but I had to explain it to Pepper, so that she knew what was going on as well. "Each set of drones is communicating in its own unique language" I told her, never diminishing the rate that my fingers were pushing the letters and symbols on the keyboard.

"Why don't you try focusing on one?" She asked, her voice a bit higher than I was used to. This whole thing was starting to affect her patience and calmness.

I was about to answer when Hammer interrupted. "Have you tried Russian? Why don't you try Russian?" I sharply turned towards him and he actually took a couple of steps back, holding his hands up.

"Idiot, I meant coding language. And yes, Pepper, this is what I am trying to do" I tried not to snap at Pepper, but the pain that was rising in my left side was not particularly helping. I had yet to wear the earpiece that my sister gave me and I rushed to do so. I heard grunting from the other side of the line. "Nat, talk to me. What's going on?"

"I'm a little busy right now" was all she said and was all I needed to hear. She had reached Hammer Industries and was making her way to Vanko. So, all I needed to do was stall him for a little more and–

Suddenly my coding became so much easier. There was no interference from the other end, which meant that probably Vanko had left the computers and was planning something else. Quickly, my fingers started pressing the keyboard even faster, trying to help as much as I could before he returned. As Pepper said and as I was doing all along. I focused on one of the drone sets, trying to deactivate them. I had no idea what kind of software the guy had put, but with the limited sources that I had from the Expo computer I could not break down the security walls that Vanko had risen.

"Damn" I wanted so much to smash the computer in front of me for its inability but I thought better of it. "He's gone" I said to the earpiece, only for Natasha to confirm it a few seconds later.

"Skye, I'm gonna try to reboot Rhodes suit, for him to have control. Can you help me from your end to make it faster?"

"Of course" was my instant reply as I restarted typing. Soon there was a "access granted" sign with capital, green letters. I opened another window in the computer which linked me to the computer Natasha was using.

"Reboot complete. You got your best friend back" she said to Tony, whose face through the Iron Man suit appeared on the screen as well.

"Thank you very much, agent Romanoff" he said and I turned my face to look at Pepper. Natasha said something, but I could see the question in Pepper's face and as she looked at me she saw that I was not phased by this new information. She opened her mouth to speak when Tony spoke again and our attention turned to him, because of what he said. "Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying. Thank you"

This made Pepper rush in front of the screen. "What do you mean you're not dying? Did you just say you were dying?" She started rambling.

"Is that you? No, no I'm not. Not any more" Tony tried to save his slip but couldn't really.

"What's going on?" Pepper asked again, trying for once to get a straight reply from the billionaire.

They kept on going back and forth about the reason why Tony didn't say anything so far and started arguing as if they were a married couple. _Get a room already,_ I thought as I looked from behind Pepper to Natasha, begging her with my eyes to save me. Thankfully she picked up on my distress and spoke. "Hey, hey. Save it for the honeymoon. You've got incoming Tony. Looks like the fight's coming to you"

The duo kept on arguing for a little longer until Tony had to turn his attention back on the Hammeroids coming in his direction. I kept on typing on the computer, and despite the distance between our location and Tony's, we could still hear all the ammo being fired. My focus was still on the computer screen when the police came and took Hammer away, when Pepper said that he was the one responsible for the attack at the Expo. And for some reason, he really thought that he wasn't the one who needed to be put in jail? I had given up on this guy… Seriously. Trying to get inside the mind of that four year old was more challenging than trying to read through Natasha's Assassin mask.

So, when he was escorted by the police some other police officers came with us as we exited the backstage and moved to the front. Pepper was giving them directions about the exits that they should be positioned, given that she knew the Expo map by heart. "Are you coming with us?" One of the officers stayed back and asked her.

"No, I'm gonna stay 'till the park is clear" she said and pointed at me. "She is coming with you, though"

"What? No!" I almost yelled and went to stand next to her. "I'm staying as well" I dismissed the officer, but Pepper seemed to want to continue this argument.

"Skye, you're hurt. You may try to hide it, but I've seen that you grunt with the slightest movement. You helped with the hacking, and made your arm worse. Now, go and get checked out" she stood tall in front of me, trying to be intimidating and trying to make me listen to her. But she knew all too well that I was not going to go anywhere unless I wished to.

"If you're staying, then so am I" I simply took my aching arm with my good one and pressed it on my chest. She opened her mouth to say something, but she never got the chance to. "You stayed with me in a shaking building, in one of the higher floors and said that you would not go anywhere unless I came with you. This is me saying that _I_ am not going anywhere unless you come with me" my eyes never leaving hers.

She scoffed and threw her arms in the air. "Fine" she said as if exacerbated, but I saw the tiniest lift at the corner of her lips and I knew she wasn't really mad with me.

We watched as people evacuated the perimeter and I was counting down the people that were left in close range. The sooner these guys left, the sooner we would leave as well.

"So…" Pepper dragged out the word, which made me raise an eyebrow in her direction. "Natalie is an agent?" She eventually asked, her eyes never really meeting mine.

"S.H.I.E.L.D." I simply replied and she nodded. "I met her once or twice before I fell off the grid" I added since she already knew some general information about my stay in the Academy. She did not reply though and it got me a bit anxious. "Sorry that I didn't say anything" I kind of lied. I was sorry, just not for not revealing Natasha's cover. I was sorry for everything that was going on. "S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to be keeping an eye on you"

Pepper laughed slightly at that. "Yeah, they sure do". She looked up in the dark sky as if lost in her own thoughts. "You see, I know that Tony doesn't like the agency much but there are some decent people there and they helped a lot when Tony first came out as Iron Man". She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as a slight breeze pushed the hair out of her face. It was quiet, too quiet. "Have you ever met a man named Phil Coulson?" She asked and I had a feeling I knew why. I had read the files when I hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. from when AC went to meet Tony and make an assessment of his Iron Man suit.

I smiled at the memories that included him and I had a long time to visit. "I might or not have heard him"

The quiet that was too good to be true suddenly disappeared as an explosion happened from the other side of the Expo. It sounded a lot like the explosion that occurred in the Stark mansion when Rhodes went against Tony.

Both of us stopped moving and all our focus was at that point. It could have been seconds, or a few minutes when a tipping sound started echoing from one of the disabled Hammeroids close to us.

"Natasha?" I asked in my comms, and grabbed Peppers bicep as I slowly backed away from it.

"I have no idea what's going on Skye. I'm out of Hammer Industries coming to you–"

"No, don't!" I screamed back. "I think those things are about to blow" I said just as fast and sorted to pulling Pepper harder, who finally seemed to get the memo. The ticking sound grew faster and faster, but we were still not out of reach from the explosion that was bound to happen. I heard before I saw Tony flying towards us and I pushed Pepper in front and away from me. "Take her! I'll be fine!" Without leaving any room for him to question me I started running away just as the explosion finally happened.

I raised my good hand, sending vibration towards the explosion, hoping to create some kind of shield to protect me, but given that I only had one arm to use, the power sent to the shield was equally half.

I heard Natasha call my name in my ear, just as the heat from the destroyed drone hit me.


	39. Debriefings And Disasters

**AN: Good morning. I know I uploaded a few hours earlier than normal, but it is about 8am here and its going to be a busy day for me, so I didn't want to keep you waiting. Many thanks to my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123_ and to all of you for reviewing the story with your thoughts I always appreciate it. So... yeah. I hope you enjoy the chapter**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

"Skye!" I screamed into my comm when I heard her telling Tony to take the CEO away. I screamed her name and only a second later the whole of Stark Expo enfolded in explosions. We had parted ways with Happy just after we finished from Hammer Industries and I rebooted Rhode's suit. I had called in to let S.H.I.E.L.D. know my status and what was going on from someone on the ground. Coulson was sent to New Mexico, along with Clint and so I was left with Maria Hill picking the phone before handing it over to Fury. I quickly filled him in the situation and about the lack of reply from Skye.

I wanted to head straight to the site of the many explosions and start the search for my sister as soon as possible, but Fury made me see logic saying that anything could collapse at any moment if we did not take the proper precautions. So, there I was, sitting not so patiently and waiting for the team that the director send to get ready for the search to start.

"What the hell happened here?" Maria Hill asked as soon as she stepped next to me.

We were looking down at the debris that filled the surrounding area as far as our eyes could see. My gaze didn't stop searching for any sign of Skye while I answered. "Hammer and Vanko. That's what happened". I turned my head to see what was taking the rest of the team so long. "Are you guys ready or what?" I snapped.

"Hey!" Maria instantly said. "They haven't done anything wrong. You know the procedure for situations where explosives are in play" she all but pushed my shoulder to emphasise her words.

My eyes were once more focused on the ruins, not sparing a look at Maria who I was sure was still carefully watching me. "Even so, they are taking too long" I ended up saying.

All Maria could do was let out a sigh. Silence filled the air and for a few seconds all I heard was the sound of the agents wearing their suits. Maria and I were already in our protection gear. I was sure that everyone could feel the energy and need for action leaving my body in waves. Finally, _finally,_ everyone was ready and we started making our way through what used to be the Stark Expo in all its glory. We would check everywhere we could and then quickly moved on. Slowly and steadily we continued making our way towards what once was the main pavilion, where Hammer did his presentation. Skye shouldn't have been far from there, since when I left she was in the backstage with Pepper going over the systems and helping hack Vanko.

The building had completely collapsed and there were quite a few heavy chunks of stones that the agents would, more often than not, pick up to check underneath in case there was still any explosive devices or in best case scenario, Skye herself.

I had strained my ears, trying to pick up any sign of Skye's presence. In one ear I had the coms that the team had and on the other I would have the one connected to the one Skye should still have on her. Normally all of our communication devices had a tracking system, but since Skye had yet to return to S.H.I.E.L.D., I didn't want anyone to get the idea of tracking her because of something that I gave her and so I had disabled this specific function.

I was shaken from my thoughts when a hand landed on my shoulder. "We will find her" Maria spoke from behind me and I threw her hand off me. "We better do" I replied, my eyes still scanning the area.

We kept going like that for what seemed to be hours for me. I kept on noticing the worrying glances that Maria was sending me. I didn't mind the agent, but I was not very fond of her either. She did care for my sister, her being her main trainer for the short period that she stayed in the Academy. But she is the person that I blamed for losing her. She was supposed to soon be her S.O. and despite that she lost her. She was the reason why I had years to hear from her. But she left the Academy and gained a position closer to Coulson and Fury, so the instances when I met with her for mission briefs along with Clint had increased a lot the past couple of years. It was pretty hard to continue keeping a grudge against her, because she wasn't an easy person to dislike. She reminded me of myself a lot of times. But now, Skye was once again kind of missing and she was here worrying about me snapping to the agents.

We were divided into teams, as to cover more ground quicker that we would have otherwise. Of course, I was in the same team as Maria with another guy helping us lift the heavy chunks. So far we had found absolutely nothing and it was getting on my nerves. So, when we lifted one piece of the building that had fallen and I noticed that there was an intact corridor underneath I, without a second thought, docked and went into the darkness. Without my support lifting the thing, the stone fell back to its initial place trapping me inside.

"Romanoff" I heard Maria's angry voice in my ear. "What's your status?"

"Though I'm very touched to hear you worrying about me, I'm fine. There was this corridor under the piece that we lifted and thought of checking it out. I highly doubt I'll run out of oxygen by the time you find a way for me to get out and I'll be fast enough to check this place out by the time you create the exit" I replied and started making my way through the unfamiliar environment.

I heard a sigh from the other end of the comms but no further reprimand, which I was sure I would get an earful of once out of this whole situation. I unsheathed the flashlight and resumed making my way, taking in everything in case I caught sight of Skye. This whole situation reminded me of the way that I found her the first time, something more than a decade ago… how fast time seemed to pass. Thankfully this time though there was no door where Skye was hidden behind. Only a tone of debris all over the place, which made me look closely to each one of them in case Skye was somehow underneath them.

But no, Skye was not under any of the ruins that were all over. She was lying on the ground, close to a wall, with her face on the ground.

"Skye!" I screamed even if I knew deep down that she would not be able to listen to me.

"Natasha, what's going on?" Maria's voice filled my ears as she must have heard my previous cry.

Paying no attention to the question asked, I ran up to the limp body of the woman and fell to my knees. Carefully I turned her body so that she was facing the ceiling instead of the ground and gently placed her head on my lap. Maria still wanted an update on the situation, but all my focus was on Skye who had not even moved. I placed a couple of fingers on her neck and let out a heavy sigh when I found her pulse.

My adrenaline was now at its peak, but I managed to relax a little bit since I knew that she was safe. I lifted he hand and pressed my earpiece, just to make sure that Maria would get what I was about to say clearly. "I have Skye. She is alive. Unconscious, but alive"

* * *

As soon as the rest of the team found us we called in for backup, because we had no idea what kind of injuries Skye might have had. There was a quinjet which came to pick up Skye and only a couple more agents and headed straight to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where the director would meet up with us. Of course, Maria rode in he quinjet with me and we both watched, in silence and not being able to do anything to help, as a doctor that was onboard assessed the state that my sister was in.

And so, this was how I ended up sitting in a chair in an office in the medical facility.

Skye's many injuries were listed before me in a paper which I had already gone through half a dozen times, memorising every detail. The occurrences in which she was thrown off the ground because of an explosion or thrown in general were too concentrated for her to escape it without a scratch.

She also must have pushed her shoulder quite a lot while helping me hack into Hammer industries when they were controlled by Ivan Vanko, since it was once again in a sling but was, this time, accompanied by a tight wrap that went from her hand, up her shoulder and around her chest to make sure that it was properly help in place. Her ribs were not getting any better either, but among the rest minor scratches and bruises she gained the most alarming was her head. She had bumped it, _again,_ probably when she was caught up when the Hammeroid blew. That, combined with the concussion that she got from when fighting in Monaco _and_ the explosion in the Stark mansion… well, it was just not good news.

"Natasha" Fury's voice echoed as he entered the office.

I did respect the man, he was the director of the organisation after all and a main reason why I was not killed after the Red Room. But we both knew that I was not particularly happy with being taken away from Skye, at least not in this particular moment. "Let's get this over with, I have someplace I need to be" I said and watched as Fury slowly went to sit in his chair behind the desk in front of me.

He was holding a folder which he opened and threw on the desk so that I could see what was inside. I already knew what it was though, with no need to read the typed letters on the papers. This was Skye's folder from when she was in the Academy and all the info that we had gathered while looking for her when she first disappeared and the new one since she reappeared. It was a thin folder though, with not a lot of intel, since we could only print what we got quickly before her traces disappeared as she erased herself from any digital existence.

I simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for anything new to listen to. Fury leaned back on his chair and linked his fingers over his stomach. His gaze never left mine though. "I am not gonna lose her again"

"And you thought that I was gonna let this happen? I just found her after years of looking" I replied, never showing any emotion. The sooner we got this over with the better.

Fury actually laughed at my answer. "I was not expecting anything less from you. But can you promise me that if, when she wakes up, she decides to leave that you will not allow her to? She is a great asset and from what I gathered from Maria when she was training her she had the potential to be a great agent. And now she has powers as well? The training that you and Melinda gave her doesn't seem to have completely left her, if the fight in Monaco was any indication" he declared. "So…" and with that he leaned on his desk this time, his hands still linked to each other. "What do you think?"

I took all the info that Fury had said into account. I already knew his intentions when it came to Skye.

Underneath all that talk though I knew that was he was saying was because he cared a lot for her. He would never admit it himself, but if someone knew him long enough, they would be able to read the signs.

He was the one that sent May, Clint, Coulson and I in the 0-8-4 site in the day when we found her. He was always behind the scenes and he had agreed to take her into the Academy when the time came. He was the one who provided all the resources in order to track her when she fell off the grid and he protected her when she made an appearance in Monaco. He was the one who made sure that even though her face was recorded and many news reporters would like to pursue the identity of who this unknown individual with powers was, no-one dared to do so. And it had made Skye's life so much easier when she deleted what was still on the internet about her.

So, yeah. To a third party listening, he might appear as the strict director of the shadow organisation that S.H.I.E.L.D. was at the moment, but deep down he did care a lot.

Realising that it was some time since he asked me my opinion and I had yet to answer, I cleared my throat and started. "I don't think she will want to leave. I told you before that she wanted to come in as soon as Pepper was settled after the whole fiasco and mess that Tony created. And since everything appears to be going pretty well for now, I don't find any reason for her to not want to come in" I honestly said.

Fury seemed to analyse my words for a bit. "You rely on the belief that Skye will keep her word. She left the Academy without leaving a trace behind and you had to seek her for years. What makes you think that she will stay true to what she promised you?"

"We both know that if she wants to disappear she can do so, and trust me when I tell you that we won't be able to find her again" the answer came as soon as Fury formed his curiosity-filled question. "Ever since I met her, if she was one thing, that was honest. Honest to her word. If she promised that she was to come to S.H.I.E.L.D. then she would and I have no doubt about that. And let me tell you–" my sentence was cut short when I noticed that the water-filled glass on the desk started moving. Not the glass itself, but the water seemed to pick up on vibrations.

"Natasha? What happened?" I heard Fury ask at the abrupt way that I stopped talking. His eyes followed mine to the water just as the vibrations picked up and the office shook for only a second before going back still.

"Skye", was all I whispered before bolting out of the room and running to the room where Skye was supposed to be resting. What I found surprised me to no end.

Skye was curled up in the corner, her back against the wall, knees close to her chest and an arm stretched out. I could see the cables that were still on her, measuring her vitals and her heart rate seemed to be over the roof. On top of that she seemed to have somehow ripped the IV off her arm. Even if I was on the other side of the room I could clearly hear her whizzing with every rapid breath she took over the commotion that was happening around us.

With a quick look around the room I noticed that there were a couple of doctors thrown at the other side of the room, probably because of her powers. Another doctor was helping the two of them off the floor while Maria was slowly closing in on Skye with her hand up in a surrendering manner.

I saw Skye's eyes focusing on Maria's form just as her stretched arm started moving to her direction. _Shit._ "Look out!" I screamed at her and threw myself on top of her to push her out of the way of my sister's vibrations. Just as we landed, ungracefully may I add, on the floor I heard a loud sound from were Maria was previously standing. I turned my head only to see that the medical equipment had taken flight and had violently hit the glass window on the other side of the room, breaking it completely. I noticed that the quake that Skye send hurt her as well, because she was clutching her left side with her good arm. Maria moved beside me, a movement that would most likely lead to her standing up and I pushed her back down. " _Stay here_ " I told her, leaving no room for disagreement.

I slowly got up, with my hands up in the same manner as Maria's previous attempt. Skye quickly saw my movement and extended her arm to throw a wave to my way. I was quick to dodge and saw Skye hiss and clench her aching side.

I leaned closer to the ground, to be more to her eye level. She made no move to extend her arm at my direction, but I had no doubt that she would do so if she felt she was threatened.

The other people in the room had stopped making any kind of sound or movement and all their attention was between mine and Skye's interaction. I looked into my sisters' eyes and saw fear clear in them. What worried me the most though was the lack of recognition when she looked at me. It was as if she was looking at me, but not truly seeing me. That, along with her quick breaths and her whole body language let me know in what state her mind was in.

Flashback.

But what could she possibly have a flashback from? I was wondering what she might have been through those four years that I had no idea where she was. I was slowly moving closer to her but I seemed to have overstepped a boundary as her hand shot up to my direction and instead of dodging I took a few steps back.

This was going to be hard.


	40. Fake Reality

**AN: Hello! This is the last chapter for this month, I hope everyone had a great October. Many thanks to my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123_ and to all of you. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and feel free to let me know what you think of it :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

 _As I slowly creeped back into reality I felt this strange drowsy feeling coming over me. The last time that I remembered a similar feeling was when I had broken my arm and I woke up in the hospital, with drugs running through my veins. I could hear the beeping sound of what could only be a heart monitor in the background as I shook my head, trying to lift the fog that seemed to have taken over my mind. I remembered walking to the house one moment and then the next there was nothing._

 _With my strength slowly returning back to me, I opened my eyes. It took a few trials for my pupils to adjust to the blinding white light that washed the room that I was in, but soon I could properly see. I looked around and saw that I was in a room which looked really similar to a hospital one. Only there was a lot more space than a normal one. It was all white, there was one door and my bed, along with the heart monitor. I made a move to bring one of my hands to my head but as soon as I tried to lift it, there was something not allowing me to complete the movement._

 _I looked down, only to see that both my hands and legs were strapped down and no matter how much I tried to set myself free, nothing helped._ What's going on? _I mentally asked as my breath rate picked up and I started struggling against the holds. I could hear the heart monitor starting to beep louder and louder. It was only confirming the higher speed that the blood was running through my veins, since I felt as if my heartbeat was the loudest sound in the whole room._

 _It must have only been seconds since I started hyperventilating that the door opened and a person in a medical gown walked in, in a fast pace._

 _Once he came close enough to see that I was awake a smile appeared on his face. "Oh, great! You're awake!" He said as if me waking up was some big news. He turned his head and looked to a camera that was in the corner of the room, "We can start"._

 _"_ _Who are you?" I finally mustered the courage to ask, my voice breaking a little. "Where am I?"_

 _The man didn't seem fazed by any of my questions and waited for some other doctors to come in the room. I lifted my head a little bit, as much as my restrained position allowed me to, to see what was happening. The three new additions brought a rolling desk with lots of needles and other instruments on top, as well as this strange metallic suitcase._

 _"_ _Who are you?" I asked once more and the fear leaked through my voice with ease._

 _The first guy that had come in the room snapped in my direction and moved closer, crouching more to my level. With his hand he placed some hair that was on my face, behind my ear. I moved my head away from his touch but he leaned in closer and I couldn't escape him. "It's okay Daisy. You're safe now" he softly said._

 _"_ _You have the wrong person. I'm not Daisy" I told him after a while. "Please, just let me go" I could feel the tears starting running down my cheeks._

 _"_ _Doctor, we are ready" one of the others spoke and the guy that was next to me nodded._

 _"_ _It's okay" he said once more quite softly. "We are together now. Nothing is going to happen to you._ Gosh, _I've waited this for so long!" He exclaimed and I flinched back at the sudden rise of his voice. "Sorry, sorry" he cleared his throat and the smiled returned to his face. "You have a gift. It's why I brought you here, so you can receive it. It's your birthright. There's a transformation, a-a-a change that has to happen" he showed the other people in the room. "They will help us, help_ you _, reach your full potential"_

 _One of the other doctors came in closer, bringing a needle filled with a liquid along. "I'm not who you think I am" I tried again struggling against the restrains. "Please, you're making a mistake"_

 _The doctor put his hand on top of mine and held it tightly, his eyes never leaving mine. "It's not your fault. You don't know any better. But we are together now Daisy. We can be a family again". I hissed as I felt the needle penetrate my skin where my elbow is. This drowsing feeling taking over and I tried very hard not to close my eyes. "Everything is going to be fine my daughter" was the last thing I thought I faintly heard before unconsciousness took over me._

As soon as I closed my eyes though, there was not the normal peacefulness that I felt when resting. There was a searing pain going through most of my body. My head felt like it was going to explode, my ribs hurt with every single breath I took and my left arm was too numb for it to be normal. I could hear the heart monitor just as before but this time the doctors had left the room. I made to move my arm just as before, only to find the movement hard and just as that my eyes snapped open.

My eyesight was blurry and I had a bit of trouble breathing from the pain in my torso. I gasped for breath as I abruptly sat up. Through the tears in my eyes I noticed the IV connected to my arm, just as before and I quickly ripped it off.

I ripped it off…

Just like that I realised that I was not restrained even if my left arm felt just as like that. I made a move to get up, throwing my legs off the side of the bed. It was my chance to get out of there. Moments before my feet touched the ground, a couple of people in medical gowns came through the door running shouting something to another person in the room who I could not see in the moment. But I wasted no time.

I extended my right arm and shot a vibration wave to the two doctors who flew back and crashed into the wall of the room. It had never happened before, but when I shot the vibration it backfired and my forearm felt as if on fire but it did diminish the numbness of my left shoulder, making some itching and unpleasant feeling rise there as well.

Clutching my hand as much as I could at the moment, I tried to get up and run away while I had the chance. But my legs didn't seem to be able to support me and I fell straight to the floor, thankfully landing on my back and not on my side where I guessed it would be worse. I pushed myself to the corner of the room, where I could see what was happening around me. Despite the pain, my right hand extended in case anyone dared to come close enough.

I had quite a problem focusing. The blurry eyesight, combined with the headache and the loud noises that enfolded the room were not much of a help. I could hardly make out the two doctors being rushed out of the room by another person in white, while someone dressed in black was making their way towards me.

In pure reflex and without much thought about the consequences I pointed my hand to their direction and threw a wave.

Of course, it backfired like before, only this time it shocked my rib cage hard. Immediately I brought my right arm around it as if this would make the pain go away.

I noticed that any noise made before had stopped. I thought I heard someone say something, but with my trouble focusing, my hearing being filled from the whizzing noise I made with every breath and my pulse beating as if my heart would explode, I could not be sure. In this blurry reality that I seemed to live in at the moment, a black form, that seemed very similar to the one before, started slowly making their way to my direction. Immediately I lifted my hand as I sensed the danger closing in. Only my aim wasn't as good in the state that I was in and the black blur was too fast for me to hit. So eventually the person dodged and all I managed to do was to further injure my side.

I contemplated closing my eyes, but decided against it. Though I couldn't recognise any details, it was clear that the dark form had crouched closer to the ground and was slowly moving in my direction… really slowly though and with no sudden movements. It was almost a peaceful move.

But then I heard him calling to me again, the name dancing in my head over and over again. "It's okay, Daisy" he said. "You're safe now".

I knew it would hurt but I didn't have much of a choice really. I moved my right hand from my side and pointed it at the figure which I was now convinced it was the Doctor. It didn't even matter that he was wearing a different set of clothes than before, all I knew was that he was here. I could hear his voice in the room.

To my surprise, the Doctor backed up. He stopped moving for quite a while, waiting for me to make a move. "It's not your fault" he said again, repeating the lines from last time. "You don't know any better. Everything is going to be fine" and just like that he started closing in once again.

My breath was coming out in short patterns and I really didn't have any more strength to send any waves towards him. My hand was trembling, hard, no matter how much I tried to steady it. This was just another reason why, even if I tried and succeeded mastering the energy, the chances of me finding my target were too low. "I already told you" I tried. "I'm not who you think I am, please" I hated the way that my voice broke or how fear had clutched me and wasn't letting go of me.

The Doctor stopped momentarily, giving me some hopes that he might actually leave, only to resume his approach just as slowly as before. "It's okay, my daughter" he repeated and his tone was all so reassuring for some reason.

As he approached, I pushed my back further in the corner that I had put myself. As if I could somehow move through walls if I pushed hard enough and I could somehow escape the figure. I could still hear the whizzing of my inhales as well as my heart pumping at me ears. Its rate peaking up the closer he got.

My trembling hand was still outstretched and he, very carefully for some reason, grabbed it. But it was not the hard grab that I remembered. He was gentle, his fingers brushing through mine and carefully wrapping around them. He didn't grab me or drag me anywhere as I expected and we stayed like that for what could have been seconds but looked like some long minutes from my part. The gentle action had taken me by surprise and had send a warm feeling though my arm and to my body that I didn't really think that I would forget. I had to blink quite a few times to manage to focus and I finally did at the slender fingers on my hand. My eyes travelled, now more clear than they had been since the second time that I woke up, to the person whom the hand belonged to fearing that it was the Doctor.

A sob escaped my lips when instead I saw the face of my sister. "Nat?", was all I managed and it appeared to have been enough.

She immediately came closer and wrapped her arms around my trembling body, bringing me closer to her. I remembered her whispering calm and reassuring words to me as she helped me calm down. The whole ordeal that I had just went through though appeared to be quite heavy for my injured system and I soon found myself sleeping in the security of my sister's arms.


	41. Guess Who Is Back

**AN: Hello! Let's start with a big thank you to the awesome Beta called _MegaDiary123._ The chapter is a bit smaller than the last couple ones, but I had to finish with the small surprise at the end which I hope you'll all like. So... any ideas who is back yet?**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Hill's POV_

I had been informed that Skye had somehow gained powers, and that they had something to do with vibrations. But seeing them in person was completely different, especially when they were directed against me. Natasha, who had clearly seen the work fist-hand before, pushed me out of the way just as a quake was shot towards me. The window behind, where I just stood, breaking from the seer power of it and I honestly didn't want to think what would happen, were I to be hit by the invisible force. So, when the assassin basically ordered me to stay there, I didn't argue with her.

I wondered how she was going to approach the student that I had lost many years ago. She didn't seem to recognise me when I moved closer. She didn't seem to recognise anyone for that matter. I had my fair share of experience in the field to know that look.

Natasha dodged a wave send her way and slowly started making her way to Skye once again. I noticed the medical staff that was looming by the door, watching in awe as Natasha approached the girl. As quietly and slowly as I could, I got up and moved to the door and ordered them out. I knew that Natasha wouldn't be able to keep the straight face that she usually held in the current state that her sister was in and I knew that she would appreciate the privacy. As much privacy as I could offer anyway.

Fury had joined the party, carefully watching as Natasha grabbed Skye's hand. The door was now shut, the window sills closed and just the four of us in the room.

I was happy to notice the recognition shine through Skye's eyes and her whispering Natasha's name. The moment Natasha wrapped her arms around her, the younger one broke down and soon passed out, probably from exhaustion. She must have strained her injuries quite a lot and from what I gathered, her use of powers didn't practically help the healing process. I turned my head and looked at the director. He had the slightest hints of concern on his face, which he covered quickly.

"Do you need any help?" I asked when I was sure that Skye was indeed asleep.

"No, no I've got it" came Natasha's quick reply. I watched as she carefully repositioned her arms around Skye's form, easily avoiding all the registered injuries. She must have read the doctor's notes.

The room remained quiet as Natasha picked her sister up and placed her back on the bed. The IV was back in her forearm and the blankets thrown gently over her. It was obvious that she was not going to leave this room again anytime soon, at least until the next time that Skye came to. So whatever we needed to discuss would be in here. "What do you think happened?" Fury eventually initiated the talk.

"I came in the room moments before you did" Natasha told him. Then her eyes traveled to mine and she added, "But you were here". Her tone was enough to hear the accusation in her voice. Though our relationship had improved the last couple of years, since Skye was here and she basically went into a flashback in my presence I could totally understand where the red head was coming from.

I quickly went through the events in my head before speaking. "Honestly the situation escalated fast. She woke up, quickly ripped the IV off and made a move to stand up. Her vitals were high, as you saw yourselves, and the doctors were alerted but as soon as they came into the room she looked up and that was when I saw the fear in her eyes. She blasted them and then curled up in the corner, just before you came in. I think it was more of a survival instinct kicking in than anything else really" I concluded and gave the other two a few moments to digest what I had just said.

"I am not going to leave her side" Natasha spoke, a final tone in her voice.

"Of course you are not" it was Fury's turn. "You are the most familiar face that she has around in the moment. We don't want something similar happening, both for our and her safety". His eyes then darted to the sleeping girl and softened a little bit. "Any idea what caused the flashback or what it was about?" We didn't even need to discuss if it was a flashback or not, since we all knew it was definitely one.

The attention was back on Natasha, who was most likely to answer the second question. "I have, honestly, no idea. Don't forget that I only met her after Monaco. We did talk about the years apart but even so she didn't mention anything traumatic enough to justify such a reaction" she had yet to take her eyes from Skye's face. She looked so peaceful and relaxed, completely opposite to how she was before.

The gravity of the room shifted to me and I knew it was my turn to speak. "My best guess for the cause would be the doctors. She was disoriented from the moment she woke up, which is normal. Her head injury justifies that and probably the fight or flight mode kicked in and she wanted to flee. But then the doctors came in and this was when it all went to shit, basically"

"We wouldn't want her waking up with a doctor over her and have the same reaction" Fury declared. "Any ideas? Do you know if there is anyone she would trust enough with medical training that she would allow to approach her?"

I didn't know Skye that well. I had only really met her in the Academy and even then I was her instructor, not her friend. True, I did give Melinda a few updates as to what was happening so I knew a bit more about the girl than a simple instructor would have. Also, almost becoming her S.O. had allowed me access to more information about her and I could only think of one person that Skye might allow close to her and who would fill the requirements for the job. I looked up to Natasha and all she needed to do was nod so that I knew she was thinking the same thing as me. "There might be. But I'll need to make a phone call and use your name"

"Anything" he said and walked towards the exit, opening the door. Before walking off he stopped and turned his head to look back. "Keep me posted"

"Yes, sir" I replied and with that he left. I went back to the seat that I was occupying before Skye woke up.

I found my phone, which was laying on the ground after being thrown when the girl vibrated the doctors to a wall, and pressed a few buttons before putting it against my ear. I didn't have to wait long before my call was answered. "Anne Weaver" the head of the SciTech Academy answered and I smiled at the sound of my friend.

"Hey Anne, it's Maria"

"Oh, hey Maria. How are you?" Came the instant reply.

"I've been better" I sighed and the long pause from the other side of the line let me know she picked up on my stress. While in the Academy we would usually talk to one another about our worries, and the habit had yet to leave us when we found time to call each other. "It's complicated" I said, instead of 'classified'. "I actually call because I need a favour. It actually comes from the director"

There was another pause from the line before I heard her again. "What do you need?"

"I'm gonna have to borrow one of your students…"

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

When I woke up this time, my head was a lot clearer than it had been before. My vision was now swimming and the pain was not as evident. Slowly I opened my eyes, to find the room less bright and actually quite dark, it must have been night time.

I felt a slight weight on my right hand and turned my head, only to see Natasha's hand on mine while she had fallen asleep on a chair next to my bed. She looked really peaceful and I didn't want to disrupt her rest, but I really didn't want to go to sleep again. So I tried to sit up, which turned out to be a terrible idea, because I had momentarily forgotten the injury on my ribs. So, of course when I hissed, Natasha woke up and looked up to me with worry in her eyes.

"Hey" she said. If I hadn't seen her sleeping then I wouldn't have guessed that she just woke up. "Take it easy" she said and pushed me gently back on the bed. I didn't even try to put up a fight since I knew I was going to lose. "How're you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"I'm fine" I tried, but my attempt to sit up had jolted my torso and it was painful when I breathed. So, I guessed my lie didn't come out as convincing as I would have liked it to be.

"Let me get the doctor" she said and got up to leave. I didn't know why, but hearing her say, "the doctor" almost brought me back to the white room with the guy that called me Daisy. I didn't mean to, but my heart rate sped up a little bit and it showed on the heart monitor that was placed beside me. Nat was back and next to me in an instant. "Hey, hey Skye. It's okay. You're safe" she said in a reassuring voice. "I promise you, she is going to take care of you" she said after I had calmed down a little bit.

"She?" I asked and my sister nodded. The mention of gender going against the Doctor's one from my dream like memory, helped me relax a bit more.

"I'll be just outside" she said and got up to leave, glancing at me just to make sure that I was fine. I tried to muster my best smile, but I was not sure whether it looked like an actual one or more of a grimace. As soon as Nat exited the room I looked around, taking in the closed window sills and the damage that I had caused in the room what I could guess was hours ago.

The squeak of the door opening brought me out of my thoughts as the doctor came in. "Hello Skye" she said smiling, the accent bringing a nostalgic feeling to my chest.

"Jemma?"


	42. Peace Offerings

**AN: Hey... First of, I want to apologise in advance for the long _AN_. As always, many thumbs up to the awesome Beta called _MegaDiary123._ Now... this week there's going to be, unfortunately, only one update (this one). I'm not gonna try to make up any excuses, so here's what's going on. For starters, I hit a writers block and I only have one chapter after this one ready to go. Also an old problem that I had with my hand came to the surface and I cannot write for long periods of time without it hurting, so this has diminished my productivity as well. I want to be as punctual as possible towards all of you who support the story, so instead of uploading twice and maybe running out of chapters, I'll upload once and try to write a few chapters in the in-between time. I will let you know next week if we will be back into the 2 cpw schedule. Thanks you in advance for your understanding and hope you are all doing well. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Jemma?" The girl walked further into the room, a slightly sad smile on her face. She was wearing one of those medical gowns that the doctors usually wore and that was when I made the connection. "You are my doctor?" The disbelief was clear in my voice, but I received a nod from the girl. "But you are a biochem expert" I countered.

This made her stop dead in her tracks. "Though these are my two PhDs, I am on the top of my class and have been trained as a doctor in case I need to go into the field. My expertise in biology and chemistry even provide an advantage when it comes to treating people whose biology is quite different than that of a normal person" she replied and it was as if she was reading it from a text, her face blank. Then she moved in closer to the IV and checked the medical equipment. I thought she wasn't going to say anything else, but apparently I was wrong. "Seriously?" She asked, laughing a little bit almost bitterly. Her eyes darted from the IV to mine and I could see the pain behind them. She didn't even try to hide it or lie about it, she _was_ a terribly liar after all. "After all these years and this was what you chose to say?"

My mouth hung open, getting stung a little bit from the roughness and honestly, as well as all the feeling that she poured into that one question. "Are you in any pain?" She asked and I shook my head trying to get a grip on my raging mind. The movement was a bad choice, because it suddenly felt like my head was going to explode. My good hand found its way to me forehead and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the pain under control.

"You silly" I heard Jemma say approaching my bed. I felt her remove my hand and placing her own under my chin. "Can you open your eyes for me?" She asked with a soft tone.

I did as instructed, though with a bit of difficulty. Soon there was a light shined to my eyes and then I was asked to follow a pen which she waved in front of my face. "You have a heavy head trauma from when you crushed with the wall after the explosion" she spoke while examining me. "So, _no sudden movements"_ she didn't yell, but she didn't have to, to make it clear that I better not disobey her. "Anywhere else?" She asked when she moved a little bit away, writing something on her notepad.

"My ribs" was all I said but was enough for her to understand.

She backed up a little bit, her hands moving to touch the part that I had just mentioned. As soon as her fingers brushed over my skin I flinched away, not really meaning to. I had to re-get accustomed to people touching me, and my years away had made my flinching reflex reappear.

I saw the pained expression on Jemma's face as she retracted her hand. "Sorry" I whispered and turned my gaze away, not being able to meet her eyes.

"May I?" She asked for permission and all I could do was nod, slowly this time.

She gently placed her fingers back on my chest and she poked in a few places. I may have been facing away but I had no doubt she was registering my reaction every time she pressed a more sensitive spot.

The poking was finished quickly and she moved a few feet further away. From the corner of my eye I could see that she was writing some other stuff down in her notepad, before she closed again and grabbed the IV. She was about to let the morphine, or whatever drug they gave me flow in my blood, but in the last second she stopped. She turned in my direction and caught me looking at her in secret. "Are you even gonna try to explain yourself?" She asked, voice breaking a little bit, and with her voice my heart broke slightly as well.

It was as if we had a mini staring contest which eventually led me to sighing. "Natasha?" I spoke up, loud enough for my sister to hear me from outside. Though I had a feeling that even if I just whispered her name she would have heard me as well.

"Yes, Skye?" She immediately came in and stood by my side, looking questionably at Jemma.

I smiled a bit at her. "I am guessing you brought my bag from Pepper?" I asked and received a nod. "Could you please bring it over?" I requested. I could see the curiosity flashing in Nat's face but she left the room, closing the door on her way, and let the two of us alone once again.

"I am guessing we are doing this now then?" I asked Jemma, who was still looking at the door where Natasha had disappeared off to. Her attention was back on me and she crossed her arms over her chest, a pouting grimace on her face which made her so damn cute. Maybe it was the bits of morphine running through my veins, or maybe it was the years that I had to physically see Jemma and not through a picture. But I just realised that I had missed her almost as much a I had Natasha.

"You left…" she broke the silence with a small voice. "You said you would keep in touch, yet you did not. I can't say that you left without saying goodbye, because you did, but a letter doesn't even compensate what I felt like when I found out that you had vanished" she spoke so quietly.

I knew she was not going to yell at me. It was not in her character to do so, unless she had changed that much in the five year span that I had to see her. So her soft reprimanding was expected.

"I did not" I verified. "I did not keep in touch" Ι added in a matter-of-fact way. "I did however look after you as I promised. Checking into the S.H.I.E.L.D. servers to see how you were doing" She gave me a pointed look that I remembered all too well and I raised my good arm in a surrendering manner. "I don't say that as an excuse" I smirked and a small laugh actually escaped my lips. This was the Jemma I remembered.

"Why?"

I took a deep breath and prepared myself. "You know I can't lie to you?" I asked and got a raised eyebrow in return as if she was telling me 'seriously?'. "True, I could if I wanted to. But I vowed, long ago, that I would never lie to you". I looked at her dead in the eyes as I spoke, "You are here" I stated and she rolled her eyes. "This means that you were briefed into the whole situation and know about my… powers"

I heard a knock on the door and Natasha peaked from the entrance, showing me the bag. "Thank you" I told her as she placed it on the chair next to the bed. "Can you give us a moment?" I asked when I saw her a bit reluctant to leave.

"Call me if you need anything" she said and exited the room, giving us some privacy to finish the conversation.

"Is that the protection that you referred to? You were afraid that you would hurt me with your powers?" Jemma put the pieces together quite quickly. God I had missed that about her. So, when I didn't reply and averted my eyes from her, she understood. "Oh, Skye" she came and sat on the chair, moving the bag on the floor. "You know that's utter nuisance" she playfully nudged my right shoulder to lighten up the mood. "You would never hurt me" she said with such confidence that it made me turn my face to meet hers.

"You don't know that Jemma. You were not there when I lost control. Hell, I still have no idea how I got the powers in the first place. What if, let's just speculate, I didn't indeed run and stayed in the Academy. How long would it be until I lost control again? And based on the experience that I got once I left, it wouldn't have been that long. It took me years, _years_ Jemma, to get a glimpse of control and I have yet to fully understand how the whole thing works. You getting hurt would have been inevitable had I stayed"

I didn't get to say any more because I was practically interrupted by the scientist. "And you think that you leaving hurt me less? That this _letter_ " she emphasised as she took her hand off the pocket of her medical gown and threw the letter that I had written all those years ago on my lap. "This _letter,_ hurt me less than you would if you had stayed?"

I was too stunned to reply immediately.

My eyes still glued on the piece of paper that had gone a little bit yellow, stained by time. The photograph that I had taken of her sleeping was printed and pinned on it as well. My hand carefully reached and picked it up, as if it was a fragile treasure. "You kept it?" I asked almost as if speaking to myself, but the room was all too quiet for Jemma not to pick up on it.

"Of course I did" I could hear the smile in her voice. When I didn't say anything in a while she continued. "You have yet to answer my question though…"

Out of habit I shook my head a bit to clear it and was rewarded by the usual pain. I heard Jemma scoff next to me and laugh a little bit at my antics. "I know that the letter and my disappearance hurt you, but I'm going to tell you what I told my sister a few days ago. I am not regretting any decision that I made, no matter the consequences, since it meant that I would keep you safe"

"Come on, Skye. This is just–"

"Just what, Jemma? Bullshit? That it would all be better had I stayed? No. I know it would not be because, as I said before, you have no idea what I went through to gain the little control that I have right now. You all act as if I had been on vacation these last five years, when in truth you have absolutely no idea what was going on in my life. How much I struggled to…" I clinched my fist, not being able to finish that sentence. I knew that snapping at Jemma wouldn't help but I was reaching my limit with people accusing me, lately, for my actions.

The sad smile returned to Jemma's face. "And whose fault is that?" She asked and we both knew the answer. "You know that I would have been there for you, even lie for you, for crying out loud, had you asked for it"

She placed her hand on top of my fist and I slowly unfolded my fingers to wrap them around hers just as a smile played on my lips. "But you were there" I said.

Jemma straightened her back at this and titled her head a little bit to the side. She looked so much like a puppy not understanding what its owner was saying that I wanted to laugh so hard, but thought of my ribs and ended up just giggling. With my chin I pointed to the bag on the floor and Jemma put it on the bed so that I could reach it. I carefully unzipped it and searched inside for the item of interest. The moment that it appeared out of the bag Jemma's face lit up.

"She was always there. So, I kind of felt like you were there as well" I extended my hand and offered the peace offering to Jemma.

She took the hula girl as if it was the most precious item she had ever held and she looked at it in awe and wonder. She examined every single side of it and when she looked back at me I could see the tears shining in her eyes. "You kept her?", her voice properly breaking.

"Of course I did" I honestly replied. "You gave her to me, how could I not? Truth, she did almost break a few times from my quakes, but she is a strong girl. Just like you"

Obviously without thinking much about it, she threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around me. I was shocked at the beginning and fought the urge to escape the grip, instead trying to ease into it. I held on as much as I could before my side couldn't take it anymore. "Ribs, ribs, ribs" I said quickly.

It was Jemma's turn to flinch away and look at me in horror. "I am so sorry Skye" she said as she got up and moved to the IV and allowed the morphine to run in the liquid connected to my forearm. "I am such an idiot" she said, her British accent becoming thicker when she was upset.

I felt the drugs kick in almost immediately and I laid my head on the pillow.

Jemma must have noticed that because she went back to her seat, after dropping the bag back on the floor and placing the hula girl on the night stand. "You never mentioned that your sister is the freaking Black Widow" she said with a mischievous smile on her face. " I wonder who the rest of your family is" she added.

" _Jemma…_ " I complained, turning my head to the side to look at her and trying to keep my eyes open. It was getting a bit hard if I were honest. "Not fair" I mumbled.

The girl laughed at that and once more grabbed my hand with hers. "Go to sleep Skye. I'll be here when you wake up". I didn't need to be told twice.


	43. Getting Back On Track

**AN: Hello everyone. As always, please thank the awesome** ** _MegaDiary123_** **for Beta-ing this and all chapters. Unfortunately this week will be just one update, but I have high hopes that from next week we will get back on track with 2cpw. This chapter is dedicated to** ** _Stan Lee_** **who passed away a couple of days ago... I hope you enjoy**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Jemma did keep her promise and the next time I opened my eyes she was still in the room. "Hey there, sleepyhead" she smiled as she got up from her chair and came closer to where I was lying.

"Hey" I replied back and soon we repeated the same drill as last night, with Jemma shining a light in my eyes, then pocking gently at my ribs and writing some notes down on her pad. "Where is Natasha?" I asked, when I noticed the absence of my sister. I would expect her to be looming over me for a good few days and that I would have to persuade her to get out of the room and go get some proper sleep.

"Oh, you mean agent Romanoff?" She inclined. "The director came and asked to see her. She was really reluctant in leaving you alone but I promised that I would be here at all times and she would be the first person to call if anything were to happen. Also, the fact that agent Hill is right outside, keeping watch, must have helped ease her concerns". I let out a sigh at that. "Do you want me to call her?" She asked, misinterpreting my sigh.

"No, no it's okay" I rushed to say. She raised an eyebrow at that, a sign that she clearly didn't believe me. "Honestly, I was just thinking of Hill. You know, I haven't seen her since…" I trailed off, knowing that Jemma put the pieces together. It wasn't that hard to do so in any case. The scientist soon had to leave and I was left alone in the room. She asked if I wanted Hill to come in, but I hadn't really been alone with my thoughts since the mansion was destroyed and I missed the quiet.

So, when the girl exited the door, after sending me a small smile, the room was left with the monotone sound of the heart monitor.

It could have been minutes, or even a couple of hours, when the door opened and the director walked in with Natasha trailing behind him. I saw her looking around, probably for Jemma who had assured her she would be here. "I wanted to be alone for a bit. It's not her fault" I assured her, though her gaze didn't relax at all. I would address the matter of Jemma later on when it was just the two of us, but for now there were more important matters of immediate attention. Or people, to be more precise. I turned my gaze and sat up a bit straighter, "Director" I said with an incline of my head.

"Please, Skye, don't force yourself" he said trying to make me lay back down, only for my determination to stay seated to grow bigger. He chuckled a little bit and turned to look at my sister. "I can see where she gets that from" and then turned back at me, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you".

"Likewise" I said, but sounded more like a question. But when my eye caught Natasha looking straight at me I knew the answer to my question. Most people, when feeling uncomfortable or like a secret of theirs is on the light would gaze away, but Nat was the direct opposite. She would stare so hard that you would feel like you had grown a second head. "Since when?"

There was no need for further elaboration on my question. "Monaco" Fury said.

"That explains a lot" I said. Finally the gaps I had begun filling in and pieces clicking into place. Because, not only no news pursued to find out who I was, but Stark had not mentioned the whole 'powers' thing almost at all. "Thank you" I genuinely continued, nodding my head a bit and then stopping, remembering the injury that I didn't want to make even worse, "for keeping me safe"

Fury inclined his head a little bit and raised an eyebrow. The eyebrow of his good eye. _Funny,_ I thought and then wondered whether I would be able to see it if he raised the one under the pirate eye patch or not. "You are not mad?" His question was well satisfied and, to be honest, I was surprised with myself that I wasn't. Maybe it was the drugs running through my veins. I could see the same puzzling expression taking over Natasha's features.

I kindly smiled at him. "No, how could I be?" Still my answer did nothing to diminish their query. "Look, director, we have an understanding with Natasha. We take care of each other, whatever it takes. I know it must have taken her courage to come to you about my whereabouts. I mean, even if she did tell you, I know that she wouldn't allow you to tell anyone else, director or not. _And…_ as she must have already informed you, I would have come in sooner than later. The events in Stark Expo only accelerated my coming in. And, to be fair, it was a good thing that she did tell you because look what happened. So, no. I am not mad"

It was clear as day that Nat relaxed after I said my piece. I could also tell that she wanted to come and hug me, or take my hand in hers, but she restrained herself and didn't move an inch, giving me only a light upwards title of her mouth tips.

"So…" I said as Fury had yet to speak up. "What is going to happen now?"

"What do you know of the Avengers Initiative?" Fury asked with a serious voice

* * *

It was a good week before I was allowed to leave the medical facility. I was so happy that I was not "restrained" to a bed, that the watch that I had to wear for monitoring didn't mind me at all.

It was a watch with quite high technology. Since no-one really knew how my powers worked or how they affected me while using them, it was deemed necessary to wear it at all times. It was monitoring my heart rate, as well as registering when my powers came to the surface and how they affected my system. I couldn't possibly be held inside a lab 24/7, for two reasons really. The first one, was because this was the reason why I ran from S.H.I.E.L.D. all those years ago and Natasha would have none of it. The second reason would be because I was to be trained as an agent. So, we needed to see how my powers reacted in real life situations and not just simulations. As a result the watch ended up being the best alternative, at least for now.

Jemma had officially moved in the same training facility as the one that I was going to attend, the location of which was of course classified. Though I could easily hack into the system and find out, I wanted to make a good first impression.

So, back to Jemma. She did move in with me, just like when we were at the Academy. It was way too soon for her to graduate SciTech, given the many years that people study there in order to make it out, but from what I gathered she was at the top of her class and way ahead of the rest. Like, three years ahead, which really meant that she could graduate anytime in the near future. So when the director, or _Pirate_ as I like to call him behind his back, contacted the head of Jemma's Academy she was relieved from her study duties.

I could tell that it had taken a small toll on her, given that she had to leave Fitz behind and for him to graduate on time, but she tried really had to hide it. It wasn't very hard to look right through her facade though, her being a terrible liar and all.

"You okay?" The two of us were in the room we shared and I could tell that Jemma's mind was somewhere else.

Her gaze turned to me for just a moment and then she resumed her position of looking at the wall across from her. Her eyebrows closed in so much that they almost touched each other, and a puzzling look took over her face. "Why did I come here?" She finally asked after a few long minutes.

"What?" I replied completely at loss.

Her back crunched a bit and she supported it at the wall behind her, as she bent her knees closer to her chest. "One moment I am at the Academy, and the next I get called to Ms. Weaver's office. I get informed that the director himself has requested my presence at a classified operation and when I get briefed I discover that I am to be your doctor" she paused and took a deep breath. Her eyes were moving from side to side, not looking at anything in particular, but letting me know of the speed that her mind was working. "From your reaction when I walked into the room the first day it was clear you were not expecting me. I got debriefed in all the aspects of your powers and how they might affect your recovery, but no-one really told me why _I_ had to come and treat you. I mean… there are so many more skilled and expert doctors in the organisation, but instead they picked up a student who has yet to really finish the Academy" and like that she turned to look at me. "So, why me?" I could see the gears turning in her brains, trying to make sense of the situation.

"I was informed that you had the grades needed from the Academy to graduate" I countered immediately.

"You are avoiding my question, which means you know the answer" she said.

 _Damn._ I had forgotten how easily it had become for her to read me and all the years apart didn't seem to have broken this ability of hers. And, truth be told, I had replied way too quickly so it was really my bad for making it easy for Jemma to read me.

"What's going on?" She asked, concern leaking into her voice as she stood up and came to sit next to me.

We hadn't really addressed the elephant in the room. Apart from the first day we hadn't really spoken much about where we stood with each other and there was some invisible barrier that seemed to separate us. There would be these long moments of silence when neither would speak and the awkwardness would sometimes become unbearable. So when Jemma positioned herself next to me, silently offering her support, I couldn't help but smile and feel somewhat relieved.

"I might or might not have been thrown all over the place lately by people, explosions… you get the memo" I could see Jemma scoffing and shaking her head at that. "Well, I am guessing that it was because of the many times my head ended up bumping onto walls but after I was knocked out at the Expo I had this… dream". Jemma's puzzling face returned and so I explained everything that I remembered from the dream.

After I finished narrating what had occurred I waited for Jemma to digest all the information. "Still, it doesn't explain why I am here" she finally said.

I didn't want to relieve what had happened in the medical room or how scared I had felt, or helpless. But Jemma had a right to know, give that any plans she might had made turned upside down because she was rushed here for my sake. My voice shook a little bit the next time I opened my mouth. "When I woke up in the medical room I kind of threw the doctors on a wall. I–I was disoriented and they reminded me of the Doctor from the dream. My mind was so confused as to what was real and what was not and I kept seeing him and hear his voice" I paused a little, taking a deep breath. "Natasha… she didn't push me into talking about it, but she said that it looked like I was having a flashback from where she stood"

I had tightly closed my eyes, trying to get the voice of the man out of my head. I hadn't expected it to happen, so it took me by surprise when Jemma placed a hand on my shoulder and I flinched at her touch as if burnt. It was the second time that I had the same reaction with Jemma around and I silently cursed myself. "Sorry" I whispered just as I did the last time.

Jemma's gaze was not as hurt as it was a week before, so she must have expected my reaction. The reaction though didn't stand in her way of eventually placing her palm on my knee.

"It's okay" she said genuinely. "I am sorry I pushed you" she continued with a regretful voice.

She must have picked up on me saying that Nat didn't push me into saying what the dream was about. "No, no" I hurried to say back. "You didn't push… really. I–I wanted to tell you. You've already heard so many weird stories from me that this memory probably wouldn't freak you out"

Her eyes flicker for only a moment before they met mine. I was about to ask what was wrong but she interrupted my thoughts before I got a chance to voice them. "Memory?", and so I understood the reason for her bafflement. "You previously referred to it as a dream, yet just now you said 'memory'… Was that something that happened to you after you left the Academy?" Her back was more straight than before. Her scientific and verso-observant side of her coming to the surface when there were unanswered questions hanging in the air. "If you want to answer, of course" she quickly added when I didn't speak for a goof few minutes. "I don't want you to feel pressured into answering anything you don't want to, or feel uncomfortable to, or–"

Her rambling was completely and abruptly interrupted by my laugh. I couldn't help it and it felt so nice to be smiling, feeling _happy_ , for a few consecutive days without ending up being blasted off the ground.

"No, it was not something that happened while I was away" I reassured her and my laughter eventually died when my mind travelled back to those days. "There were a lot of things that happened but this was not one of those" I elaborated a little bit and took a deep breath, calming my nerves. "Where were we? Oh, memory… right. Well, you see, I first thought that it was a dream but then Natasha said that I looked as if in a flashback and it got me thinking. It was pretty realistic, what I felt, what I was thinking, and none of the details escaped my gasp once I woke up. I know that you can have really life-like dreams, but this feels different. I can't explain it any better"

"But…" Jemma spoke and it was obvious that she was deeply lost in her thoughts, the way her eyes darted from side to side or the way her forehead was pushed because of her concentration being a few indications. "…if it is a memory and not from the past few years, then from when?"

This was the million dollar question that I would love to have the answer to.

But all I could do at the moment was raise one shoulder, shrugging. I would normally raise both but my right one had yet to be 100% healed and I didn't want to get a scold from the doctor sitting next to me. "What about before?" I made the assumption that had been in my mind the past couple of days.

"Before when?" Jemma was starting to put the pieces together and there was a spark, evident even in her voice.

"Before Natasha and the others found me" I declared.

From the corner of my eye I could see Jemma nodding, somewhat agreeing on what she had just heard. "It would make sense" followed to emphasise her previous movement. "Have you remembered anything else ever since?" Her voice was small, almost afraid to really ask, but curious enough for the words to form and escape her lips.

I knew that the whole question-thing was coming to an end, or I would end it shortly, and so I relaxed a bit in my seat. "Nope, nothing new. And don't forget that all this is just hypothetical, we can't know for sure". I knew the direction to which this was going to, so I took the lead as to make it easier for Jemma who must have been quite uncomfortable with what she was asked to do. "I don't think it will affect me in the field though, and if it does I will report it in. True, it will take me some time to get used to being around doctors who aren't you, but I'll get there eventually. And no, we are not talking about the years that I was off the radar" I patted her knee affectionately. "Want me to sign any papers or is this all enough for the report you are giving the Pirate?" I asked with a smirk.

For being someone so smart it took Jemma a good six-seconds before her mind processed what I had just said, her jaw hanging open all the while. "What–What do you–No, no Skye–I didn't…" she was struggling so much that it was cute and I had to take her out of her misery.

"There is no problem Jemma. The psych evaluation was something that was inevitable and I do have to give you credits for trying to be subtle. You've come a long way in lying more convincingly that you had before"

I made a move to get up, but Jemma's fingers wrapped around my hand, not allowing me to move any further. "Please, Skye" she kind of pleaded. "I don't want you to think that I said what I said and made you open up just for the sake of an assignment from the director. I want you to know that if you need to talk about anything, _anything_ , I am here to listen. Off the record of course" her eyes were conveying so much emotion that I couldn't be mad at her. Not that I was mad at her in the first place.

"It's okay Jemma, I understand" I squeezed her fingers so that she knew I spoke the truth. "And you know that the offer stands for you as well, right? If you ever need a listening ear, I'll gladly be there"

She got up and looked at me. "I know Skye" she softly said, her eyes on mine and it was a moment when I felt as if the rest of the word had gone silent.

I felt as if she wanted to say something more.

But as the seconds stretched by and she had yet to speak I had to tell her something that I just saw. "You know what I just noticed?" I asked with a playful tone that she picked up on quickly and raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm taller than you" I patted her head and my smile broadened on my face.

She made a face and pushed my hand off her head. "Only for a few centimetres, don't get any big ideas" she rolled her eyes and gently pushed on my good shoulder. And just like that, we were back to talking about nothing in particular.


	44. Like The Old Times

**AN: Hello and good day to everyone. Starting, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ I am very happy to announce that we are back on track, with our usual 2 chapters per week :) Please, enjoy...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

That same evening I found myself in the pirate's office. He was sitting behind his chair, his eye moving from side to side as he read the lines of the report that Jemma gave him earlier in the day. His glance would, more often than not, lift from behind the papers and observe me before continuing his meticulous reading. When I heard him sigh I knew he had finished reading and was processing all the new information.

"What's the verdict judge?" I asked, feeling more brave in front of the pirate than most would.

"You should respect me more Skye, I am the director after all. Not to mention the head of a huge organisation" his tone was his classic carefree one.

"I can't help it" I admitted. "It's not that I don't respect you, you just give those… vibes. A feeling that I can get away with calling you names. So, what do you have to say, pirate?"

He actually scoffed and a triumphant smile formed on my face. "I say… that you need training" he replied folding his hands in front of his face in a serious manner. "And I would really appreciate it if you stopped hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. from now on" his voice let me know that this was more or less an order. I opened my mouth to talk back, but he lifted a finger to suss me. "You being here is still highly classified. It is not just for you anymore. You being here affects Romanoff and other people as well, so until further notice you are to remain in this facility. You will find that there is everything you need here. Now, for the hacking part, I have had enough of you getting into my servers. So, what do I have to do to keep you out?"

"Me being restrained in this facility also limits my contact with the outside world?" I asked and received a head title as a reply. "I don't mind being here, being somewhere so stable, let's say" I tried to elaborate. "But, will I be able to contact people outside of this facility. I am guessing that Natasha won't be bound here, having to go on missions and stuff. So if she is not here, will I be allowed to contact her? Her, among others who aren't S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and keeping whats happening a secret given that its classified"

I saw him analyse what he had just heard, but only for a few seconds before he replied with confidence. He was sharp as a knife, and given his position in the organisation I could totally see why. "I am guessing you are referring to Ms. Potts. Yes, you may contact her but Stark cannot know because we are all aware how big of a mouth he has"

It was my turn to scoff and a smile to appear on his face. "That doesn't even come close". After that I sat a little bit straighter in my chair getting more into a business mindset. "As for the hacking…" I started and Fury realised my change of sitting position. "I like to be kept in the light, knowing what's going on around me. It gives me a sense of security. Plus, your software is far too easy for me to bypass. I mean, if you had better software protection then it would be harder to get in there but…" I waved one of my hands in the air just to show the inevitability of me hacking in the system.

"What if you were to get a proper level clearance and help our team update our security walls?" He spoke so quickly after I finished that I knew he had this proposition in his mind since the beginning.

So that was his aim all along, wasn't it? "Taking a lesson from Tony, aren't we?" I playfully asked. The pirate just shrugged. "And what kind of level clearance would that be? I am most confident that I can get to pretty high level documents on my own. Your offer would have to suffice" I challenged, but I was speaking from experience, having read some of those highly classified documents before. Especially some of AC's missions. But the Avengers Initiative had escaped my grasp, so it made me wonder just how hidden this project truly was or how many more secrets did Fury have.

"Level appropriate to your level of training and capabilities" was his simple words.

I leaned back on the chair, thinking of the offer. Not that I was going to deny it on one hand, not that I really could on the other. But it gave me some satisfaction when I felt as if I had the upper hand, even if the was just an illusion. "Fair enough" I concluded and my eyebrows furrowed right after that. "You spoke about training a lot. Being here, and with these new powers… how, or rather _who_ is going to train me?"

The smirk that appeared on Fury's face slightly confused me. "You know him pretty well and since he was the one to bring in Romanoff all these years ago, I saw it was only fitting that he would be your S.O." he nodded at the door. A cricking sound filled the silence, followed be someone's footsteps coming in.

I turned around, only to be met with the sight of Clint.

Without even thinking about it, I jumped off and bear hugged him, ignoring my throbbing ribs. He quickly returned the gesture, being more considerate of my injuries that I was with them. "Hey there Kid" he whispered in my ear, and I could practically hear the smile that he must have been wearing.

I let out a small laugh. "Hey, Old Guy" I replied just as I used to years ago.

He gently pushed me away, his eyes going up and down my form taking in everything. "Gosh, how you've grown" he exclaimed and ruffed my hand with his hand. "And grown taller from what I see" his tone was still his characteristic teasing one.

"Stop it _Clinton_ " I replied and brushed his palm away.

"Clinton, huh?" He stepped a bit further back and wrapped his fingers on his chin as if in thought. "Then, I guess, I can't let the other person who is dying to see you come in. Sorry" he said and made a move to walk out of the room. He hadn't even made a couple of steps before I playfully hit him on the bicep. "Fine, fine" he threw his hands in the air and made way for the other person to walk in the room.

"Hello Skye" the guy who I had grown to see as a father walked in.

"AC" I softy said and our hug had a completely different feeling than the one that I shared with Legolas just moments ago.

"How have you been?" Coulson asked as he withdrew from the embrace.

"Could have been better to be honest" I said back, smirking at the same time. "How about you?" I gently brushed his shoulder. "I read you've been all over the world"

He lifted his hand and brushed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, yeah. I've been to places" he started and lifted his gaze and met the stern one that Fury send him. So, he straightened his back and cleared his throat. I had a really hard time not rolling my eyes. "But, we can talk about this another time" he spoke and his tone was more professional than before.

"Right…" I said dragging the word and earned a small laugh coming from Clint's side. "So, Clint is going to be my S.O.?" I asked looking between the person of interest and the director. Once I got a nod from both of them I continued. "Where does that lead us?"

"Why, of course…" Fury replied and folded his fingers, placing his palms on the desk in front of him. "…you train" he said as if it was just as simple as that.

* * *

 _~ About 1 year later ~_

"Are we done yet?" I asked after sending my vibrations to a building, making it collapse. I had lost account of the building that my powers had destroyed long ago. I straightened my back and rubbed my hands which had started itching from the extensive use of my powers.

Hill picked up on my discomfort and furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you in pain?" She questioned and came closer to examine my arms.

"Not really" I said while removing the gauntlets that S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists had created. "I started feeling it though".

The agent started looking at my hands and poking at various places, while registering my reaction. Seeing that I was not, indeed, in any pain and that I was not just putting a strong front she took a few steps back and wrote down the progress on her tablet. "I think that this should be enough for now. We wouldn't want to risk it. Plus, making you reach your limit isn't the purpose of today's exercises". She then cleared her throat. She started walking away and waved her hand, signalling me to follow her.

"So… how did I do?" I asked with a playful note in my voice. I tried to peek at the tablet but she, immediately, switched it off. "Not fair. I know I did better than last time, at least I think I do, so what's the point of hiding my score?"

"Scores serve as a mental barrier. When you don't know your score and just push yourself to the maximum of your ability every time it's easier to get better faster" she simply replied.

We walked towards the car that we came here with and got in. I guessed this was the end of today's session then. Since my powers could be used in a destructive level, we would sometimes travel to secure locations where I would have building and buildings to bring down, testing my limits, control and other factors. But, even if the location was classified I knew that it had to be somewhere removed enough so that I wouldn't accidentally cause an earthquake to a city, or even a town. And the long drive to get there was all the proof that I needed.

"So, that's why you would never tell me my scores while in the Academy?" I resumed the conversation while we buckled our seatbelts. The scoff that I heard from the driver's seat was all the answer that I was looking for. "You didn't expect to reveal this to me, did you?" I asked and the smile that was on my face could clearly be heard on my voice.

"Shut it, rookie. Or I'll have you run laps when we get back" she replied half serious, half joking.

Or so I thought and didn't really want to risk it. "Yes ma'am. Why were you training with me again?" Clint was my official trainer and S.O. and, up to that day, every time that we trained together he was on the sidelines as well.

"Another important side of being an agent is to take orders by multiple people. Also, training with some of your commanding officers allows both to know each other better and this is very beneficial when it comes to going out in the field" she stopped talking and the only sound in the car was the radio playing. I guessed she wasn't going to say anything else because of the long pause, but I guess I was wrong. "It's also nice to catch up with you" she said softly and I turned to look at her face which was relaxed, albeit serious. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. "I am really proud of how much you have improved this past year _and_ comparing from my experience when we were at the Academy"

This brought a gentle smile on _my_ face. "Thank you" I replied sincerely. "It means a lot".

Agents would often judge the 'Commander', as it was the name that Hill had earned for herself among the lower level agents. True, she did everything by the book and would be strict about the rules. She also did not fear to say what was on her mind to everyone, including Fury, without caring much about the consequences if she thought that she was right. All these, along with the fact the she got quite high in the ranks of the organisation in a short period of time, especially since she was an instructor at the Academy beforehand, had many people underestimating or not respecting her.

And, in the same terms, people would think of her as someone who acted almost robotically and had no feelings. But I knew better than most. And after getting a praise like that only made me want to learn more about her. I would like to think that we had a good relationship while I was in the Academy and though we had never been too close, I did feel at ease when I was with her. After all the bumps that we had at the beginning, we had reached a point of mutual understanding. I wouldn't mind getting back into that mindset with her once again, and I truly believed that she could use a friend and I wouldn't mind being that person.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" I asked.

My question was quite rough and I saw her turning her head slightly to look at me, before redirecting her eyes to the road ahead and making sure we wouldn't crash anywhere. A laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head.

I could feel the air lighten up in the car and I knew that the journey back at the base would not be a boring one.


	45. Welcome To SHIELD

**AN: Hey! First things first, lots of thumbs up to the Beta named _MegaDiary123._ Also let me welcome any new readers and greet the old ones. I hope you like that chapter and feel free to let me know what you think :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Clint's POV_

I had let Maria take Skye for that day's training as Fury asked to see me in his office.

I was just exiting the room, after getting debriefed from the director and received the best news that an S.O., and brother, could possible receive. Though this unexpected and sudden announcement had me accelerate the plans that I had prepared months ago, just for this occasion. Suddenly I was really glad that Skye was not at our base and that I had hours to spare and prepare everything before she came back.

* * *

I had all personnel evacuate the floor that I was currently hiding in. It was the floor that Skye and Simmons lived on and I knew that the moment my student came back from training she would head straight to that room. It was a habit of hers, after all, to go and change and catch up with her friend. So I had informed the older girl of what was going on and I was patiently waiting and watching the video feed, on my phone, from the camera in the corridor of her room.

I had to suppress a giggle when I saw her walking towards the said destination, my excitement almost getting the better of me.

It took a few minutes before I saw her coming back out of the room and probably heading to the floor's living room. My assumptions were soon verified when I heard her coming through the corner.

"Clint?" She asked and looked around bewildered. I could see the confusion on her face as she continued, "Anyone?" Her eyebrows were furrowed and she raised a hand to rub her forehead trying really hard to understand what was going on.

She was right underneath the vent that I was currently hiding in and I repositioned myself to be ready for action. My movement however caused the slightest squeaking sound and I immediately stopped dead in my tracks. Normally, one would not be able to detect the almost inaudible noise, but in a large room which was filled with silence I had no hopes that Skye would not peak up on it. _I_ was the one to train her after all.

I saw her head snap in my direction and she stayed unmoving for a good few seconds, as she narrowed her eyed to the air duct. She eventually shook her head and started walking towards the sofas in the middle of the room. She was walking as if nothing was wrong, calling my name a handful of times as well.

"It's not like him to be late" she murmured and looked around.

Eventually she must have given up on trying to find me, because she moved further towards the edge of the room and she turned the TV on. _Perfect,_ I thought. _She is not going to see this coming,_ I mentally smirked and carefully and silently finished repositioning myself.

With no warning I jumped down from the pipe and raised the bow and arrow that I was holding, aiming it to the sofa's right, on the height were Skye's head should pop up from the cushions. The only problem was that Skye was nowhere to be found and only the television was playing in the background. Without letting my guard down, I scanned the room and began to slowly walk towards the controller, to turn the ABC Channel off. The moment my fingers let go of the bow string, I heard something being thrown my way and rolling on the ground, closing in. My eyes quickly darted towards the origin of the sound and my mind filled with only one word.

Shit…

I jumped behind the sofa, taking cover, just in time before the grenade explodes. I quickly head to the side and tip over a table, making a barrier between me and the younger woman.

"You alive there Clint?" I hear Skye yell from the other side of the room. The smile that must have been on her face was evident even in her voice.

"Well played Skye" I yelled over to her and resumed to whisper to myself, "Well played, indeed".

There was a pause from her part and I took the time to calm down and lower my heart rate. I closed my eyes, and focused as if on mission, taking in everything that was happening around me. The bow and two arrows ready on my hands, while a case with a dozen more ammo was strapped to my back. I was waiting for the right moment, until it came. "Did you expect Jemma to lie to me?" Skye asked.

I snapped my eyes open. I knew the direction where her voice was coming from, and that along with the volume of her voice gave me a pretty good indication as to where exactly in the room she was positioned. With it being second nature to me, I rose to my feet and threw the first arrow at her direction. I was satisfied to see her dodging just in time so that the arrow would not hit her chest. The second arrow was already pulled back as I stepped back towards the door. I knew she was about to unleash her darts in my direction so I let my arrow fly to her direction, knowing that she would not be hit, but buying myself enough time to exit the room.

I ran through the familiar corridors and heading to the director's office. More often than not I would have to take cover as Skye was closing in and she would fire some of her ammo in my direction. Soon I reached the large office that I wanted to and closed the door behind me, closing the window sills and not allowing my sister to know what was going on inside the room.

I might have not expected the particular outcome to come to fruition, but I had prepared for every possible scenario, including this one. I turned around, nodded at the director, and moved on to execute the second part of my plan.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I had to admit that I was a little surprised when I returned from training only to have Jemma inform me that Clint had prepared a surprise for me in the living room. I had to give it to her though, she had stored some ammo, to help me start my game, under one of the sofas which is where I found the grenade that started the war.

Clint managed to escape my grip and I was chasing him around the floor, when he took a sharp turn left and I saw him disappear behind the pirate's door, closing any means that I could possibly have to look at what was happening in there. I would have been so grateful at the moment if Nick had put any kind of cameras in his office, but Mister Secretive had decided against it. So, since my hacking wouldn't get me any closer to the office, and I didn't have time to hack into the schematics of the building to find another way in, I decided to walk up the door.

"Director?" I asked when I closed in, my grip always firm on the gun in my hand, which I had recently reloaded just to be ready.

I was not expecting an answer, waiting for Clint to have gone in the room when the person in charge was absent, but I was completely wrong. "Come in" said the head of the organisation and I hesitantly twisted the door knob.

I slightly opened the door, my eyes scanning the room before I went in, and closed the door behind me so that my brother wouldn't have any way to escape.

"Is there something I can help you with, agent?" Nick Fury asked, rising his one good eyebrow in a questioning manner. He acted and spoke as if Clint hadn't just burst into his office and seemingly disappeared into thin air. He was a really good actor and I had to give it to him.

"Have you seen Clint around?" I asked but was not surprised when I received a head shake.

"Why would you think that?", he replied as he folded his hands at his chest.

"I was informed that he wanted to speak with me". The gun, though it still had my fingers tightly wrapped around it, was hanging by my side. "I've been trying to find him ever since and the only place where I had yet to check was here. So, I wandered if you knew his location" I lied swiftly, not even hesitating forming the words. I looked at him dead in the eye with an expression as serious as I could possible master. It was as if we had a mini staring contest, before he broke it by moving his gaze at his desk.

"Well…" he started and unfolded an arm to open one of his desk drawers. My eyes were glued on his moving hand as he resumed speaking "…I might or might not have an idea as to where he is"

I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise and my pupils grow larger when the pirate's hand came into view and he pointed his NERF at me.

"Shit" was my turn to whisper just as Clint had done moments ago. I turned to the door and opened it, but couldn't find any room to escape from the office. AC and Maria were blocking my exit, as both of them had their NERF guns pointed at my chest. I slowly backed away, to where I was standing before attempting my escape, and raised my hands in a surrendering manner. It was just a couple of seconds before Clint appeared behind the two agents at the door with a triumphant smile marking his face.

"How did you–?"

"The vents" he interrupted. _Of course,_ I mentally cursed and kicked myself. "The gun" he steadily said, never loosening his hold of the bow and arrow. He waited for me to do as instructed before he continued, "Kick it over". His chin pointed at the item of interest.

"Oh, come on! Don't you think that that's a bit–"

"Kick. It. Over" he repeated, emphasising each word on purpose.

I couldn't do anything other than sighing. I pushed the damn gun at his direction with my foot. "Happy now?" I asked and folded my arms at my chest.

"Very" he didn't hesitate to reply and he let his arrow fly in my direction, hitting me straight in the forehead.

I lost my balance because of the force that the plastic arrow held, and was thrown backwards to the ground just as a storm of NERF darts came my way from all directions. This meant that even Fury was participating in my ordeal and I groaned, trying to think of what I did wrong to deserve it. Finally, _finally,_ when the storm of darts stopped coming my way I unfolded my arms that were hugging my head in a protective manner until that moment.

I let out a groan and rolled on my back, not even daring to move. They may have been foam bullets, but they hurt nonetheless. I heard Clint coming closer and laughing at the same time. "You good there, Skye?", he mockingly asked.

"Peachy" I replied just as sarcastically.

This made a new set of laughter appear in the room and I felt Clint grabbing me from the armpits. "Come on. Up you go" he emphasised and used all his strength to push me upright. And by all his strength, I mean _all of it_. I was literally flown off the ground and was in the air with no support for a solid second before safely landing on my feet.

"Does someone want to tell me whose idea that was? Or even better, why this happened in the first place?" I asked and my eyes darted around the room. I saw that Jemma had also joined the party, standing straight by the door. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her but she just shook her head, while a true smile played on her lips.

My attention snapped at Fury when he started explaining. "This, agent, was of course Barton's idea" he had gotten up from his desk and had his hands behind his back.

"But still it doesn't explain–" I started but stopped short when something that the director said, not only now but when I just entered his office as well, finally clicked in. "Wait" I said, shaking my head. "Agent?" I asked, not true believing what was happening.

"Well… that would be the why this whole thing was organised" Fury walked a bit towards me. His right hand was extended to my direction, firmly holding a black case which I had a really good assumption as to what it was containing. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., agent Skye"

"I–" I started but was at loss of words as I stared at the silver badge with the eagle insignia on it. "I don't know what to say" I said looking around the room to the smiling faces of the others. "Thank you" I finally concluded, looking back at Fury.

"You have nothing to thank me for" he answered and placed his hand on my shoulder, giving me the slightest squeeze. "You worked really hard for this, you deserve it" he nodded and took a step back.

"Congratulation Kid" Clint was the next to speak and came rushing to my side and hugged me as if there was no tomorrow for us.

"Thanks Old Guy" I said as I return the hug. "You know that Nat is going to be pissed that she missed this right?" I laughed at his shoulder. "Is she still at the mission on Georgi Luchkov?" I asked and moved a bit back to fully register his answer, which was a nod. "How come and you didn't postpone it then? The little 'graduating ritual' I mean. I'm sure you wouldn't mind me not becoming an agent yet if it meant that Natasha would be here to see it"

The smile that was on Clint's face disappeared as he looked at Fury and then back at me, probably asking for permission from the director. "We have a mission" he said, getting straight to the point and not going around it. "We leave first thing in the morning"

"Where are we off to?" I asked curious.

"The Mojave Dessert" he said and handed me a file with the word 'classified' in capital and red letters at its cover.


	46. Visitor From Another Planet

**AN: Morning. I apologise in advance for the slightly big AN. Starting off, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Now... we are officially in the Avengers movie. I've tampered a little bit with the timeline, considering that normally the Avengers are 2 years after Iron Man 2. So, I'll make it up later on and instead of 1 year between Avengers and the first season of Agents of SHIELD we'll have 2 years. I hope you enjoy, since Skye is part of the movie now and I've changed some key points in the story. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

We had been in the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility for a good solid three days, observing Dr. Selvig, the other personnel and the Tesseract. After Fury gave us the mission, the others had left his office for the two of us, Clint and me, to be briefed. The pirate, wanted to harness this new power source and use it for weapons of mass distraction, in case any other aliens were to come to Earth like Thor had the last year. My new Level 7 Clearance gave me access to "Phase 2".

It was only normal for the director to want to keep a close eye on what was happening inside the Joint Facility that we shared with NASA. This is how Clint and I were sent in. Fury mainly wanted Clint to be observing and report what was happening, but given that he was still my S.O.,that I really needed some proper field experience and that I had passed all my tests with flying colours, it was decided that I would be sent as well.

Clint, or Agent Barton as I had to call him when we were in mission, was hiding in an upper corner of the room, since he was better at observing what was happening from a distance. Hidden in his 'nest' as he was, I was left to be on the ground and walk around, closer to the alien Cube than my partner was. Generally I was trying to keep my distance from the Tesseract, given that it was from space and we didn't really know how it worked and all.

And the safe distance that I had set for myself was kept until the third day when I started feeling it vibrate, more than normal that was. My head snapped at its direction and I closely observed it. Even closer than I had in the past.

"Agent Skye? Talk to me, what's happening?" I heard Clint at my ear.

"I am not sure" I replied as I took careful steps closer to it. "Its vibrations increased drastically" I continued as I closed in the object.

An alarm was set off as the Tesseract started glowing even bluer than its usual colour. I looked around as scientists were running all over the place, trying to shut everything off only for the Cube, as it was a power source, to turn everything back on. That was when I first heard this voice. It was a whisper really, and I wasn't able to hear it clearly but it was obviously trying to say something. "Do you hear that?" I asked my brother who, despite the whole fuss around the Tesseract had yet to come down.

"Hear what?" He asked and the question was genuine.

I shook my head trying to get rid of the whispers, only for them to slowly peak up in volume. It was still low enough for me not to understand a thing, but it was really hard to ignore. "I thought I heard something, my bad" I lied and it didn't even sound convincing to my ears. I was relieved when Clint didn't pressure on the matter, though I knew he was going to ask again in the future. "I think we should call the director" I turned and look at where Clint was hidden.

His eyes and all his focus was on the Tesseract misbehaving and he seemed to think my suggestion over. "I think you're right"

* * *

For someone who was managing a huge organisation such as S.H.I.E.L.D. the pirate came in a whole hour later. In this hour the Tesseract had started spiking more frequently, not in a specific pattern but it was clear that something was affecting it. I was going through different scenarios and possibilities as to what might have caused this to the Tesseract. I briefly thought of Jemma and if this was what was going on in her head all the time.

As if in epiphany, my eyes lit up because of a probability that I came up with that its possibility to be true was quite high, in my opinion.

"Talk to me, Doctor" Fury came in the room and asked Selvig who was, at the moment, observing the Cube really closely.

I had gone to the side, carefully looking at the conversation happening until Selvig said that "She's throwing off interference… radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation"

My mind instantly went to one person, who was in the Avengers Initiative as well. Bruce… Well, no. I would have to disagree with the doctor here, because gamma was not something to mess with, even in low levels. So, no, not harmful was a wrong speculation to make no matter how good of a scientist he was. And Fury seemed to share my opinion since he voiced the same thought. "Where are my agents?", he asked and I took this as my cue to come from the sidelines.

"Director" I greeted with an incline of my head.

"Agent Skye" he said back. "Where is agent Barton?" He questioned, looking around and waiting for my partner to appear.

"You know his code mane, sir. He's up in the corner, keeping an eye on everything that's happening from a distance. It's easier for him to understand the overall situation that way"

We started walking towards the Tesseract, who had yet to stop misbehaving or vibrating. "I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things" he countered.

"That's why I'm on the ground. With Hawkeye on an upper level and me down here we get a better overview of what's happening around. I strongly believe that the chances of something getting past us are extremely low" I voiced with confidence, though with seriousness as well because of the situation we were in.

Without stopping our advance towards the alien object, another question was formed. One that was completely expected from my part but still tricky nonetheless. "Have you seen anything that might have set it off?"

I felt the Cube sent off another, the strongest one yet, wave of vibrations just as a doctor from the room called Selvig over and reported it spiking. "No one's come or gone since we arrived and Selvig's clean. No contacts or IM's, and given my hacking abilities I doubt I missed something" We reached the Tesseract. We were close enough that we could touch it, but not stupid enough to do so. "If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end" I concluded.

"At this end?" The pirate questioned.

I turned to look at him and then pointed at the glowing item. "The Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Just before the whole misbehaving thing started it started slowly vibrating". I could see Fury titling his head on the side with a 'seriously?' expression on his face. "I did not use my powers, sir" I whispered closer so that he was the only one other than Clint, who was in my ear, to hear. "It being as sensitive as it is we had agreed for me not to quake it and risk setting it off. But I could feel the vibrations coming off it in waves. So, since this thing is a portal of sorts, I am guessing that someone wants to come through. Doors open from both sides after all"

Just as I finished the Tesseract vibrated so hard that the whole building shook and the glowing blue patterns coming off it grew in scale. Fury and I backed off, creating some distance between the two of us and the foreign object as the energy it produced suddenly amplified. This energy sent off a beam towards the opposite wall. The whispers that I had initially heard peaked up in volume and I had to actually close my eyes as the sound pierced my skull. It turned out that it was a smart choice, given that a moment later there was a blue light that filled the room and I would have had to shield my eyes either way.

Just as I opened them again my gaze quickly shifted to where the Tesseract's energy had just gathered. And in my surprised there was a man kneeling there.

Silence filled the room as no-one, apart from some heavily armed agents, dared to move or close in on the stranger. He slowly got up and only then did I get to see a spear on his hand, glowing blue at its end. From what I could gather at the moment it looked a lot similar to the Cube.

"Sir, please put down the spear" Fury eventually spoke, breaking the silence.

The stranger seemed to just notice the director's presence. He looked at him and then at the spear on his hand. A mischievous smile appeared on his smile and only one word formed in my head. _Fuck._ I jumped at Fury, pushing him out of the way just as a blue beam was shot at him.

I watched in horror as he pierced agents, threw knifes and killed people as if this was just his morning routine… a second nature to him. "Take cover" I yelled at Fury, not caring about formalities at the moment, other than making sure the man was safe. I saw an arrow fly and get completely dissolved midair, as a beam was shot to where Clint was hiding. With no time to think about the safety of my brother I kneeled, hosteling my gun since using my powers was out of the picture, given how unstable the Tesseract was at the moment. With my fingers tightly wrapped around the Heckler & Koch 30, I pulled the trigger aiming at the intruder.

It was clear as day that my bullets hit their target, but they seem to only anger him. So the next beam that was sent off his weapon was directed at my location.

I tried to roll away, but the energy of the spear made me loose balance and awkwardly land a lot further that I had originally planned. I tried to get up and from the corner of my eye I could see the man closing in quickly. I twisted my right hand, in which I was holding my gun, in a futile attempt to shot him again. Only, he was too close and with his hand he grabbed my wrist. I tried to take it away, only for his grip to tighten and for me to stand helpless in front of him.

His head tilted to the side, his eyes boring into mine and the smile never leaving his face. "A Kree experiment, how fascinating" he whispered to himself but I heard it as well. Then something changed in his expression and he said, "You have heart" just as he placed the tip of his spear at my chest, pricking the skin underneath a little.

The blue energy danced, crawled its way to my torso and let this cold feeling take over.


	47. Bringing In The Assets

**AN: Have a great December everyone. Let me start by thanking my Beta _MegaDiary123._ Unfortunately university deadlines happened and I haven't had the chance to write at all this past week, so I only have one more chapter ready for you all. This means that I'll be uploading again next weekend and I'll let you know what's going on Saturday. Until then, please enjoy. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Clint's POV_

I watched from high above when this alien appeared through the portal that the Tesseract had created. He appeared to be like a human, a man, and the encounter that I had with Thor popped up in my mind. I knew that even if I hit him, the chances of my arrow harming him were really low, so when I released it, I immediately ducked on the side, expecting the shot that came my way.

And so I remained hidden, not speaking into my comm, since I didn't want to distract Skye from dealing with the intruder or protecting the director. But when the man grabbed Skye, pressed his spear to where her heart was and she willingly put her gun back to its holster I knew something was wrong as a cold chill run through my spine. She took a step back and did nothing when the man moved on to, what was safe to guess, _control_ other agents. Many people, had they seen how this played out, would have deemed it to be a rookie mistake, saying that she could have acted differently and prevented. But I was her S.O. and I knew very well how high her combat abilities were. So, if this guy managed to overpower her with only one arm, I knew the situation was not in our favour.

I didn't speak in my comm, knowing that even if I spoke to Skye, the chances of her snapping out of the alien's control were low. It was better for me to remain in hiding and see how the scene played out, closing in slowly so that if anything happened I would be near Fury.

"Please don't" the man broke the silence, making Fury stop in his tracks from taking the Tesseract and leaving the facility. "I still need that"

The director turned to the man so that he was facing him. From the corner of his eye he registered my movement but didn't act on it, not wanting to betray my location. "This doesn't have to get any messier" he stalled.

"Of course it does" the man reasoned. "I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose" he spoke as if he held all the power in the world.

Well, it seemed that I was not mistaken when I thought that the guy could be of the same place as Thor was. The God of Thunder, if my memory didn't betray me, was of Asgard as well. And when Dr. Selvig said that he was the brother of Thor, it all clicked. The guy who had brought a monster on New Mexico, trying to kill his own brother, was now on Earth and was after one very powerful Cube. What could go wrong?

The director kept talking with him, buying me some time to get closer and Loki, as he had introduced himself, took Selvig under his control as well. I was almost in the place I wanted to be when Skye spoke again.

"Sir, the pirate is stalling" she said as she walked closer to the Asgardian. "This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us" even her speaking seemed to be a little bit robotic and lacked its usual bite.

"Like the pharaohs of old" Fury said.

Selvig, reading something at his computer confirmed everyone's saying. "She's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical" he reported to Loki.

He on the other hand spoke to Skye who, without hesitation, fired at Fury before I even had a chance to release an arrow. The director fell back and Skye, along with Loki, Selvig and the other agents, took the suitcase which contained the Tesseract and marched out of the room.

Immediately I landed on the floor and rushed to Fury's side. Before I even had a chance to kneel beside him, he had sat up and was trying to take the bullet off his vest. "Call Hill, _now,_ and run upstairs!" He ordered as he handed me his walkie talkie.

"With all due respect, sir, I am not leaving your side" I said as I grabbed the talking device and pressed the button at its side. "Hill! Hill, do you copy?" I asked in the device. Not waiting for a reply I continued, "Skye has turned". I helped the director up and placed him in front of me as I followed behind. The energy from the portal was destroying the building and the seconds we had to get out of there were counting down. "They have the Tesseract. Shut them down!", was the last thing I said before holstering it on my belt and running out towards the helicopter that the director had come in with.

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

I was on mission to Georgi Luchkov, who was a Russian general selling weapons to the highest bidder. I had already been in the mission for a solid week, as I was sent in to spy on the general's activities. I knew my mission was coming to an end, so I let one of his henchmen find me sneaking around and knock me out in order to be able to get more information out of Georgi.

When I awoke, tied up in a chair, and the general in from of me with a sick smirking smile on his face, I knew that I had him where I wanted him to be. Not that he was aware of that, of course. He thought that he had the upper hand.

So I played my part giving him information about who had sent me, which were all part of my cover. And he in return, believing my words, was spilling out all of his secrets. That was until one of his henchmen grabbed me and forced my mouth open, as the general took hold of a slip joint plier and came closer, threatening to torture me by ripping my tongue out. I was about to make my move when a phone ringtone was heard through the room and the second henchman, who was standing a bit further away, took his phone out and answered the call.

"It's for her" he spoke in Russian as he gave the phone to the general.

Georgi took the phone threatening whoever he was speaking with, only for his face to slowly start paling by what he was hearing, as he looked around. I was not being held by anyone anymore and the general placed the phone to my ear.

"We need you to come in" I heard Clint from the other side of the line. His voice more robotic that it usually was but I didn't pay any attention to it.

"Are you kidding? I'm working" I countered.

I heard him sigh. "This takes precedence" he spoke again.

I couldn't believe my ears, that Clint had interrupted one of my operations, just claiming that what they wanted was more important. "I'm in the middle of an interrogation, this moron is giving me everything" I claimed.

"I don't give everything" Georgi spoke looking from one henchman to the other.

 _Seriously?_ I questioned with a look and I turned my attention back at the phone. "Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. Give me a couple of–"

"Natasha" Clint interrupted and this was when I noticed the slight tremor in his voice. "Skye's been compromised" he barely got the words out.

I felt as if time stopped for a second after I heard these words coming off his mouth. _No! No, it can't be,_ I thought. I took a deep breath and looked around once more. I needed to get out of there and fast. "Let me put you on hold" I said and looked at the general to signal him to take the phone. He reached out and the moment his hand grabbed the device I made my move.

Kicking him hard on the leg, I forced him to fall on one knee and I hit my forehead with his, making him collapse to the side.

His two henchmen came towards me at the same time… _So this is how you want to play it, huh boys?_ I thought. It was going to be fun, not a challenge, but fun nonetheless.

I kicked one at the stomach, making him stumble back, and the second one at the nuts making him fall hard. I was still tied to the chair, which I could use in my advantage. So before the first guy had the chance to get his bearings back together, I rolled closer to him and with one of the chair legs I hit him again at the same spot as I had kicked before and then sat on his leg, making him hunch forwards. This was a mistake he would only make once. With the back of my head I hit his nose, breaking it for sure, and then twisted and using the momentum I tripped him and he was knocked out when his head met the concrete floor.

That was when the second guy decided to join in again, after managing to get up. Couldn't a general get a better set of bodyguards? These guys' technique was awful. So, as he closed in completely open, I kicked him in the same spot I had before. He tried to punch me, I had to give him that, but he was nowhere near a level where he would be able to land a punch or kick at me. So, pretty quickly I had him where I needed him to be. By using a box on the side as a step, I jumped backwards and brought the chair on the guys back, breaking the wooden furniture and definitely bruising some of his ribs.

The general was looking at me in horror, finally realising what a mistake he made when he underestimated me. He didn't even put up a fight and I quickly left him hanging in the air, by a metal chain.

"Where is Skye now?" I asked as I picked up the phone that had been dropped on the ground.

"We don't know" he said.

 _Seriously Clint? You have to give me more than that,_ I questioned in my mind. "But she's alive?" Was what I eventually phrased.

"We think so. Coulson will brief you on everything when you get back. But first, they need you to talk to the big guy"

"Clint, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me" I said, trying to reason with him. I was not the person that Tony would listen to in order to come in. Everyone in our circle already knew as much.

"Oh, no" Clint exclaimed. "Coulson's got Stark. You get the _big guy_ " he emphasised and that's when I realised exactly who he was speaking about. Awesome. I really needed to handle this with a lot of carefulness if I didn't want to end up smashed… But I did have a hidden trick up in my sleeve, which only Skye knew of.

* * *

Before I knew it, I was in Kolkata. This Indian village was the latest of Bruce Banner's hideouts and he had been in this specific location for a good few years, so that a lot of people knew of him. Also, him being a doctor and caring for the sick did put him high in everyone's opinion in this place. So, it wasn't really hard to get a child to do the bidding and act as if her father was sick in order to lure Dr. Banner in an isolated and remote cabin to talk to him.

I heard the girl run around in the house, and someone follow her in but I remained hidden. That was until I heard Dr. Banner talk to himself. I took it as my cue to come out front and make my presence known. "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress you picked a hell of a place to settle" I told him, smiling gently just as the situation required for him to trust me more easily.

He turned to me, clearly irritated by the outcome of his evening. "Avoiding stress isn't the secret" he said as he let his bag on the floor. Good, at least his intelligence let him know that he was not going to go anywhere anytime soon.

"And what is it?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow and a teasing tone. "Yoga?"

In my surprise he laughed at my suggestion, looked around and then his attention was settled back on me. "You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart" he spoke and the smile never left his face. It was clear just from that that it was a forced one, since he was not feeling comfortable in the least with the whole situation. "I assume the whole place is surrounded?" He went closer to the window trying to peak outside.

"Just you and me" I swiftly lied. Of course there was not a chance that I had gone to that remote place, with a guy who could turn into a monster in the blink of an eye without backup.

He didn't show whether he believed me or not, changing the subject of the conversation quickly. "And your actress buddy? Is she a spy, too? They start that young?" He started walking around the room, my attention never leaving his form.

"I did" I answered honestly. And when he asked me who I was, my answer was just as honest, giving him my real name.

He was contemplating what was happening and what was to happen. When he couldn't decide the reason why I was there he spoke again. "Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's not going to work out for everyone". With his track who could blame him for guessing that I was there with such an aim.

"No, no. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D." the name of the organisation seemed to have not escaped Banner's mind. "We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance and observed. Even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent".

His uneasiness level had spiked since the new information came to light. "Why?"

"Nick Fury seems to trusts you. But now we need you to come in" my voice still had that happy, playful tone but deep down it was serious as hell. Especially since this guy was the highest chance we had of locating the Tesseract and, as a result, my sister.

"What if I say no?" He questioned. "What if the _other_ guy says no?"

"Well, first of you've been more than a year without an incident" I stated. "I highly doubt you want to break that streak" I moved closer to the table, singling him to follow me. "Second, we are facing a potential global catastrophe".

He laughed at that. "Well, those I actively try to avoid"

"This" I spoke not even waiting to see if he was finished. "This is the Tesseract" I showed him a picture of the Cube on the screen of my phone. "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet"

Banner came closer and looked closely at the screen. "What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"

 _If only it was that easy,_ I thought. "He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no-one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I would be". I could tell that he still had his doubts. It was time for the hidden card to be played.

"Now, Fury may not be after the other guy but there is a catch. A catch especially from my part" I started honestly, which I could tell took him by surprise. "One of our agents was compromised and this stone is at the epicentre. If we learn where the stone is, the chances of getting to her are higher". He seemed passive at the new information he was receiving, until his curiosity spiked from what came next. "You may remember her, actually. She sure remembers you" I said and the smile never left my face.

"And who may that be?" He questioned though he clearly thought that I was mistaken or that my intel was wrong.

"Skye" I said the name and his face cleared with recognition.

"Skye?" He questioned. "She's with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked, taking a defensive posture.

"Not when you met her, no. At the time she was running away from us, trying to get a hold of her powers. A very similar story to yours from what I have come to understand" I got up and closed in on him, taking the phone back. "She's with us now, we helped her with her abilities, though I guess I should thank you for helping her when she was away"

The Doctor didn't speak for a while. "Who else knows?" He looked at me dead in the eyes.

"Only she and I do". I could see the doubt in his eyes. "I haven't lied for anything so far, why would I start know?", I tried to reason. "So, if you're not doing this for us or even for the world, do it for her. From what I've heard she helped you a great deal as well, didn't she? It's only proper to return the favour" and with that I knew that he would come without causing any problems.


	48. Feeling Angry, Feeling Guilty

**AN: Hey everyone. Let me start by thanking _MegaDiary123_ for beta-ing this and all chapters. Also, I need to inform you that until further notice I will be uploading once a week and trying my best to stick to that. Really sorry, it's been a weird couple of weeks with the university and I hope I'll have more time and mental energy to write more during the winter break. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

After persuading Dr. Banner to come in, a trained team and I escorted him back at the Helicarrier, where the base of our operation was. Clint, though he had already arrived, was still being debriefed about exactly what went down at the mission with Skye, so I had yet to see him and ask for myself. I got word from Maria to find Coulson, who brought in Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, and bring him inside so I had just left to go outside and greet him. The war hero and the agent exited the plane they came with and that was when Coulson saw me.

"Agent Romanoff" he said looking at me and then he turned to his idol, "Captain Rogers"

I could tell from that stupid smile on his face that he had the time of his life, being so close to someone he has looked up to all his life and that he was struggling to keep his serious, second-in-command persona with him around.

"Ma'am" the Captain greeted with his old fashioned habits still in place.

"Hi" I briefly said before turning to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge, they are starting face-trace" I said going straight into the point and his smile disappeared as he focused back on work and walked in the computer room.

That's how I was left with Rogers who looked exactly like a fish out of water. So, to make him feel a bit more comfortable I started talking. "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice" I looked at him and his face said it all. How much he would like to forget, how unhappy he was with how everything turned out. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" I went for a lighter topic and I instantly saw him relax.

"Trading cards?"

"They're vintage. He's very proud" I still remembered the day when he collected the final card and how proud he was of such a "feat", as he had then called it.

As we were walking towards the edge of the outside platform, we bumped into Banner who was looking around. Before I had a chance to call him, the Captain did so first and they started talking. I stayed back and was looking at them, when I heard Clint through my earpiece.

"Natasha, we are ready for take off. Take our guests and come in" he said.

"Roger that" I said back and moved towards the two men who had already started a proper conversation.

* * *

When we went inside, I let the boys talk with Fury and look around as I went to one of the screens that was doing facial recognition for Skye.

"Agent Romanoff" I heard someone say from behind me and I would recognise his voice anywhere.

"Agent Barton" I replied and turned around to see him coming closer. Referring to each other with our surnames was a silent agreement when we were surrounded by other agents. The moment we were alone though this changed. "We have a few things we need to discuss" I said, with no trace of warmth in my voice.

"Yes we do" I could hear the strain in his voice but didn't react to it. I just kept a straight face and looked back at the monitor with Skye's face on it.

"Agent Romanoff" I heard Fury said and immediately stood up from where I was crouching. "Agent Barton…" he said the second name a bit slower, as if just deciding whether he actually wanted him to do something or not. "Could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

With a curt nob I walked past Fury with Clint. "You're gonna love it Doc. We got all the toys" I said as I took him towards his lab.

"Really?", he questioned. "Do you have…" after that he said something. I really didn't catch that and I had low hopes that even if I understood the words, I would know what they were.

"I'm not sure…" I started but Banner stopped me.

"Oh… you're very young" he said in a matter-of-fact way. I was the one that had been through enough in my life and here was Banner telling me otherwise. We talked a bit on the way to the lab, trying to take his mind off the agents that were lurking in every corner and by the time we reached our destination I could see how more relaxed he was when he went into a familiar, for him, environment. He started moving machines all over the lab and he began his work into trying to trace the gamma radiation from the Tesseract.

With that taken care of, I walked off the room with Clint right beside me, who had not spoken at all during my interaction with the other man. Once the door was closed and I checked that there were no agents around I span around and my fist found Clint's jaw straight on.

Clearly not expecting that, Clint fell on his back before quickly getting up. One hand was on his bruising jaw and the other on his hip. "Okay… I guess I deserved that" he dared to say.

"You _guess_ you deserve that?" I questioned and closed in on him.

He actually took a couple of steps back when he saw the look in my eyes. "Natasha…" he warned quietly.

"Oh don't 'Natasha' me" I threw back. I had stopped my advances but was still only a few inches away from him, inclining my head back to look at him straight in the eye. I had kept my cool long enough while Banner was around but it was time that Clinton here got the scolding I had saved for him since we hang up after my mission with Georgi. "You. Idiot!" I said and with every word I poked his chest. "How could you lose her? When did she even become a freaking agent?!" I screamed at his face.

"We both know that she could have become an agent a long time ago. She was ready" he answered avoiding my first question completely.

I scoffed at his answer. "Apparently not ready enough" I threw back. "If it was up to me she wouldn't be out in the field so soon"

"No, if it was up to you she would never see the field" he said and we both knew that it was true. "If you could you would have her locked away to keep her safe, but thank God it was not up to you. Because it was up to _Skye._ She knew what she was getting into even when she joined the Academy all those years ago. And, yeah. She was ready. She _is_ ready" he spoke, his voice never rising too much but I could feel all his frustration underneath it nonetheless. "Do you want to know how I know she is ready?", he questioned when I clicked my tongue. "Because she didn't kill Fury. She. Did. Not. She could have shot him in the head and I am sure that the control that Loki had over her told her to kill the director. But she didn't. She shot at his vest, which she knew he was wearing because this is protocol. Because _I_ trained her. _I_ was there when it happened and I feel bad even without you pointing it out, so please. Spare me with your judgement and focus on finding our girl and bringing her home!"

The seconds seemed to stretch as neither of us spoke and the corridor was filled with the uneven breaths that Clint was taking. The staring contest and silent conversation that we had seemed to die down and eventually the guy let out a deep sigh and hung his head.

"It's on me, alright?" He said and pointed at himself. "It's me who lost her, it was me who decided not to try and get her back and who made sure Fury was safe". He raised his head and looked at me in the eyes, and all that guilt that dripped in his voice was clear as day in his gaze as well. "You want to get a room and take all your frustration on me, do so, because all of this is my fault. And, honestly, if I were in her shoes I am not sure whether I would have been able to escape Loki or not"

"Don't say that" I spoke after his final confession.

"I believe that though. I trained her Natasha. Hell, even before that she got training from Melinda, Maria and _you._ If she was taken so easily I am not sure I would share a different fate"

It had taken a toll on him. This situation was straining him and he was trying to keep it together, but that strong facade that he must have worn since he got back was starting to break down. I was still angry, don't think otherwise. But I could sympathise with this helpless feeling that was sinking in Clint, I had felt it numerous times in the past both while looking for Skye and after I found her.

I chose my next words really carefully. Screaming or yelling at him would do us no good right now and we both had to keep it together. _The more we focused the sooner we would find my сестра,_ I thought and my thoughts were cut short as I silently cursed. I hadn't spoken, let alone think in Russian and I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down. "I trust you Clint" I said and he lifted his face to look at me. He knew how hard it was for me to say those words and how few people had heard me pronounce those words. "If you say so then it's true. But that means that we are facing an even bigger threat than we expected and we have a really hard road ahead of us. So you better pull yourself together because if you don't and Skye slips through our fingers because of you…" I didn't finish that sentence. Not that I needed to either way. The message was sent and with a curt nod I took off to the bridge and where the facial recognition system was still trying to locate Loki.


	49. In Loki's Hideout

**AN: Hey guys, I'm back. I am really sorry for not updating during the weekend, I'm gonna blame the lack of internet and computer access. I promise I haven't forgotten you or this story! If everything goes according to plan, I will be back this Saturday :) Also, lets not forget to thank _MegaDiary123._ I know this chapter is filler, but I hope you like it either way.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

After escaping from the pirate, I took Loki to a safe house which I knew was safe from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. From the moment that the Spectre touched me, I knew what I had to do. The whispers that I was hearing were indeed coming from the Tesseract but now I could hear them clearly, speaking to me and letting me know what my next move must be.

Loki made me his commander. After all, I held the most information about the organisation that was trying to prevent us from utilising the Tesseract to its full potential. Being the commander of the ship, I was in charge of gathering other mercenaries and workers which I knew were against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret policy. And even if they had their reservations the moment that the Spectre touched their hearts just as it already had mine, they willingly joined our cause.

"Where did you find all these people?" Dr. Selvig asked me while working on some short of device. I didn't know what the device was for or where we would use it but it didn't matter. Should I need to know anything, then the Tesseract would tell me what that was and that was all I needed to know.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has no shortage of enemies, Doctor" I replied while working on my computer. The voices had let me know that we needed _Iridium_. I had no idea what exactly it was, but my hacking abilities came in handy and soon I had a picture of it on the screen, showing it to the Doc. "Is this the stuff you need?" I questioned just to make sure.

"Yeah, iridium. It's found in meteorites. It forms anti-protons and it's very hard to get a hold of" he said as if that explained everything.

So this comes from space as well, perfect. I wished Jemma was there with me, Loki would show her the truth and we would be together, working towards a common goal. _Focus,_ I heard the voice in my head when my thoughts drifted someplace else other than the mission. I complied without a second thought. "Especially if S.H.I.E.L.D. knows you need it" I replied back to Selvig who smiled at me before looking at someone over my shoulder and a smile crossed his face.

"The Tesseract has shown me so much" he spoke while I was still working on my computer, gathering the information I needed for my mission. "It's– It's more than knowledge. It's truth"

"I know" I heard Loki say from behind me. "It… it touches everyone differently. What did it show you, agent Skye?"

The question was my queue to turn and address the alien. "My next target, among other things" I replied honestly since there was no need for lies among us. The other things being some very small glimpses of a blue alien species.

Selvig laughed at my reply. "She's got no soul" he said. "No wonder you chose this– this _tomb_ to work in" the smile never leaving his face.

Oh how I wanted to make his stupid smirk disappear, and I could, only the Tesseract was not allowing me to do so. "Well, you find me another place that has three levels of the redline flooring between S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Cube. You are the one working on the thing, you should know how important the location you're working in is and how greatly it could affect the end result of what we are trying to do". I was glad to see him nod and step away, going to work on the device once more.

"I see why Fury chose you to guard it" Loki spoke after I finished talking with the doctor.

I turned around at the mention of the director. "You're gonna have to contain him, sir" we started walking around the facility. "As long as he is in the air I can't pin him down, not with our current equipment. Normally I would be able to hack from distance, but their security walls have never been greater. If I get access from the inside, we will be good to go but until then he remains at large. And he is putting together a team"

"Are they a threat?"

"To each other more than likely" I replied. All the information that I had for the team was coming to the surface. Their evaluations, their abilities, their weaknesses and anything else I could think of. "But if the pirate gets them on track, and he might, they can throw some noise our way". It was possible to happen, I highly doubted, but with Fury on the play nothing was for sure.

The Asgardian turned to me. "You admire Fury" he said.

I never said that I didn't, I just never phrased my true opinion on him. But since we had no secrets with Loki there was no reason to hold back any information, no matter how personal or small. "He's got a clear line of sight, knows what he wants and does anything to get it" I did admire that in him. Though his… _extreme,_ sometimes methods found me opposite to his actions, I had to give him that.

"Is that why you failed to kill him?" Loki questioned, an edge to his voice that made me stop dead on my tracks.

"It might be" Loki continued walking a bit before stopping and turning to look at me. "I was disoriented and it would have been so much easier had I used my powers. I couldn't though, not without making the whole place go 'boom' before we managed to get out"

With a finger pointing at me he spoke, "I want you to tell me anything you can about this team of his". His eyes grew unfocused, as if he was a lost in thought. "I would test their metal" I nodded as he started pacing back and front the same place. "I have been hiding in the shadows but I am meant to rule this world, not hide underneath it"

"It's a risk, going to the surface" I said after realising what he wanted to do.

"Oh, yes" he said with a smile.

He wanted to make an appearance, huh? "You're set to making yourself known" I phrased his thoughts and goals. "We could use that, lure them out and break them from the inside"

"Tell me what you need" the alien spoke with no hesitation, willing to provide anything.

What could possible lure the pirate out of the shadows? Well, there was one thing. "I need a distraction. And an eyeball" I said as I went towards a van full of equipment. I found my gauntlets and wore them, getting ready for what there was to come. "Before that, there are some things that you need to know about the team that Fury is trying to make"

I received a nod from the Asgardian and so I started talking. Everything that I knew about Natasha and Clint, their missions and their past. Things that I said could be used against them, that was true, and I really didn't want to have to hurt my brother and sister. But hopefully Loki would make them see the truth as well and they would join us. If not, then I would have no choice but to fight them and we needed to be as prepared as possible. Then I said what I knew of Tony and Captain Rogers. Though the information I had on the latter was not sufficient, it was everything that I had read on the 'Avengers Initiative' report.

And then I told him about Bruce. How he struggled with his control and how we could use that to tear the team apart before they even had a chance to form. I had no doubt that the pirate would have Bruce with him by now, given his expertise in gamma radiation and his… ability… to turn into a green monster if he lost his temper. He didn't have great control when I met him all those years ago, and we had helped each other, but not nearly into a degree where he could properly control, or prevent, his transformation from happening.


	50. The Interrogation

**AN: Hello :) We reached 50 chapters, how crazy is that? Thank you all for the support and for reading and accepting this story, you rock. On behalf of _MegaDiary123_ and myself, I wish everyone Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I will see you next week.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Clint's POV_

Loki was eventually located in Stuttgart, Germany, as he made his appearance in a gala hosted in the area. A team of ours was sent to retrieve him, which consisted of Nat and myself in a Quinjet and Captain Rogers on the ground. And boy was he taking a good hit from the alien. This guy was all over the place, not being able to land a solid punch and was taking hit after hit without evading anything.

Natasha and I were unable to help from the Quinjet and as I was about to take my bow and arrows and head to the ground to try and provide some short of assistance to the Captain, our control system was overriden and Tony Stark's voice came through our comm system.

"Agent Romanoff. Did you miss me?", he asked as he came in the plaza where the fighting was taking place and shot a beam to the alien.

"Seems like I won't be needing those" I said, placing my equipment back where I found them and sat on the co-pilot's seat.

"I guess not" I heard Nat say under her breath with clenched teeth as she focused on what was going on in front of us.

Only moments after the Iron Man came in the picture, Loki surrendered and was willingly taken in the jet as we headed back to the Helicarrier. I had not forgotten what Natasha had told me the same morning, about getting a grip and completely focusing onto finding Skye. So, though I was annoyed as hell that Skye had escaped us and her location remained unknown, I had all my focus on the prisoner that we had and safely transporting him back to base to get the information we needed out of him.

Task that I had initially thought to be pretty simple but turned out to be way more complicated. True, we had Rogers and Stark arguing in the back, but this was not what worried me. When the cloudy sky suddenly was filled with lighting, I knew that something was up.

"Where is this coming from?" I faintly heard Natasha ask, looking up in the dark clouds that were buzzing with energy.

My head snapped back, to Loki's direction, when Rogers asked him if he's afraid of a little lighting. So when he replied, "I'm not overly fond of what follows" and soon after something landed on top of the Quinjet I knew that we were about to be met with someone who I was, honestly, in no mood to meet again.

"Stark, don't!" I said to the playboy who, of course, did not listen to me and opened the back of the plane while in his suit. No sooner had the door fully opened, than Thor marched in, hammered Stark and flew away with his brother.

"Now there is that guy" Stark said as he started walking towards the back of the jet.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked about the same time when Captain's voice echoed, "Think guy's a friendly?"

Before I even had the time to open my mouth and reply Stark claimed that it didn't matter and that we had to get Loki back. I could see his point of view, I really did, but after my experience in New Mexico I knew that Thor was not an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he could be reasoned with. But before I knew it both the billionaire and the World War II hero had jumped off the plane as to follow the prince of Asgard.

"Fuck" I exclaimed. "Turn back around. I need to go there before they do something stupid" I said to Natasha who piloted the jet as I got up to get my bow, which I hoped I wouldn't have to use.

"I would sit this one out Hawk" she said though she did start turning around. "These guys come from legend. They are basically Gods"

"Come on Black. I know this guy and I know if I talk to him he will stand down. It's our safest bet to get Loki back with the minimum casualties possible. That is if I manage to get there before smart-boy and living-museum-exhibition do anything that will piss the freaking God of Thunder". I could sense the questions coming from Natasha's side, since she didn't know any of the details of my mission with Phil, but she refrained from asking them. Instead she focused on the task at hand so that we would get to the place where the four men disappeared to as soon as possible.

We were almost there when a blue beam generated from the area, making the trees all around fall over and the Quinjet to fall in turbulence. "Be right back" I yelled over the sound of the wind as I jumped off the jet and started falling.

I landed a bit off target and run to where the three men who were previously fighting had stopped dead at their tracks looking at all the destruction they created.

"Are you done?" I yelled at them, not daring lifting my bow in case they perceived it as a threat.

"I know you" Thor spoke, looking in my direction, his voice holding a question as he had never truly met me during the New Mexico events.

I jumped off the rock that I was currently on top of and made my way to the crate that was created from the blast that occurred only moments ago. "You do, though I never got to introduce myself. I am agent Clint Barton, with S.H.I.E.L.D.. We come in peace and will gladly hand Loki to you, but he has a very dangerous weapon in his possession. Also he has a few agents of ours and Dr. Selvig under his control. Once we get our hands back on the Tesseract and our people you are free to take him wherever you wish"

"How do I know that you will keep your word?", the Asgardian asked.

I thought about it for a few seconds before I replied. "Even if you may not trust me, there is someone you do. Phil Coulson"

His eyes light up at the name. "Son of Coul is here?"

"He is at our base, where we were taking your brother. Let us take you to him and he can verify everything that I told you" I knew right after I said Coulson's name that he would come willingly.

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

After Clint brought everyone back on board the Quinjet, I set the course to the Helicarrier and we all rode in silence until we reached our destination. We watched as Fury took Loki to his cell and the two of them spoke. The Asgardian was clearly making puns for Bruce, or rather the Hulk, and I could see the uneasiness coming off from the Doc in waves.

As we sat on a round table, discussing Loki's goals and what our next move would be, nothing stood out that was too important for me to pay serious attention to. As soon as we finished talking, everyone left to do their thing. Bruce and Tony walked off to the lab to continue their search for the Tesseract, Thor went to the side with Phil probably to ask about Dr. Selvig and Jane Foster, while the Captain disappeared somewhere only he knew where. Clint had yet to leave the table as he was watching me with his careful eyes and was, most likely, waiting for me to make a move and tag along.

"Agent Romanoff" I heard the director call me from his control panel. I didn't need to be told twice to walk to where he was standing.

"Yes, sir"

"You're up, as soon as the sun rises. Let him brawl a little bit before making your move" he said with a pointed look. I nodded and headed towards the corridor which led to the Asgardian's cell. "Agent Barton" Fury spoke again before I had exited the room and I briefly turned around to look at the exchange. Clint was looking in my direction and I could see his desire to follow me when he replied to the director in the same way that I had before. "You're with me…" he said slowly and carefully, not leaving any room for disagreement from my partner's side.

I walked off and headed to my room to prepare for what I would have to do in a couple of hours.

* * *

I get in the containment space with all the grace that I could master. I was met with Loki pacing back and front in his cell. However he soon realised my presence in the room and stilled as a smirk appeared on his face. "There are not many people who can sneak up on me" he said whilst turning to face me.

"But you figured I'd come" I said, my voice void of any emotion.

"After" he confessed. "After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate" he spoke with confidence and, dare I say, happiness? The smile never left his face.

"I want to know what you've done to agent Skye" I went straight into the point. I would not get distracted by him and would get the information that I needed.

"I would say I've expanded her mind"

 _Seriously?_ I mentally thought and tilted my head to the side, while holding myself back from rolling my eyes. If this was how he wanted to play it, then I would play along. "And once you've won…" I started as I began walking closer to where he stood "…once you're king of the mountain, what happens to her mind?" I crossed my hands over my chest and I did let the slightest emotion slip into my voice, so as to give him the impression that my facade was breaking up from the questioning and my emotional state.

"Oh" he picked up on my 'mistake' right away. "Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"

 _Why of course,_ was what I would never tell him. Him and most people as there were only a handful who really knew my relationship with my sister. "Love is for children. I owe her a debt"

He did not see that specific answer coming. "Tell me" he asked and I would give him what he wanted.

I took a deep breath and traced back what I had prepared to say. "Before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., I… eh. Well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on". Both Loki and I were sitting and staring at each other. His full attention was on me. "I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, in a bad way. An agent was sent to kill me but he chose to bring me in. It was hard for me, working in such a different way than I was used to and though I improved my old habits were hard to get rid of. Then agent Skye came in the picture and you could say that she… saved me of shorts. Helped me without meaning to, so it's only proper for me to return the favour"

Loki seemed to contemplate my answer. "And what will you do if I vow to spare her?", he asked with a taunting tone.

I smirked at that. "Not let you out"

"No, no, but I like this" the happiness was evident both in his face and whole posture. "Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one woman– girl, even"

"Regimes fall every day" I said matter-of-factly. "I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian. Or I was"

"And what are you now?"

"It's really not that complicated" I stood up as I deemed that it was about time for our talk to go the direction I needed it to. "I got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out"

"Can you?" Loki asked. "Can you wipe out _that_ much red? Dreykov's daughter, São Paulo the hospital fire?" He started recounting a list of my not proudest moments. All of whom Skye knew of and in that moment I understood how deep his control on her was. For Skye to say such information to _anyone_ , it was worrisome to say the least, since I knew that even Melinda or Clint knew that I had informed her of all those missions. "Skye told me everything" came Loki's confirmation of my thoughts. "Your ledger is dripping" he stood as I had seconds ago and started walking towards me as I let a look of horror take over my features.

"It's gushing red and you think saving a girl no more virtuous than yourself will change everything? Because let me tell you something, _Natahsa_ , she has her own demons that no-one but herself knows about. This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic!", his tone was spiking as he spoke, leading up to him yelling at my face as I let tears falsely gather in my eyes. "You lie and kill, in the service of liars and killers", I could not deny either for Fury to be honest. "You pretend to be separate, to have your own code. Something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you. And they will _never_ go away" there was a brief moment of silence before her slammed his hand on the glass separating us and I backed up a little bit at the force he put at his hit, despite the warning that he got the previous day from Fury about 'as much as scratching that glass'. "I won't touch Skye, not until I make her kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way she know how and to make it as painful as possible. And then she'll wake just long enough to see her good work and when she screams, I'll split her skull"

I turned away.

"You're a monster" I said and sounded breathless. Though he was a monster and his whole speech was just supporting this theory, I would never really show so much emotion in front of anyone.

And once again, he laughed. "Oh, no. You brought the monster" he said with confidence and that was all I needed to hear.

I straightened my back and after a deep breath I recomposed myself and turned around to face him, without as much as any kind of emotion on my face. "So, Banner. That's your play" I replied and the reaction that I got from Loki was all I needed to know that I had reached the perfect conclusion. I immediately turned away and spoke in my comm as I headed towards the room where Bruce was.


	51. We Are Being Breached

**AN: The last chapter for 2018 is here! Aside from the thanks to _MegaDiary123,_ thank you all for supporting this story for these past 6 months. I will see you all in the new year (probably next Sunday). Before I let you go on with this chapter, I want to ask you not to hate me too much after reading this because of a little change that I made to the original Avengers script. It is an AU after all... Please, enjoy :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Loki was successfully taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. just as we had planned. With him on the inside we would tear the Avengers-wanna-be apart so that they wouldn't stand in our way when we used the Tesseract as we planned this day. Selvig was delivered the iridium we managed to get from the gala and was attending to his part of the mission. All I needed to know now was that I needed to get Loki out of the Helicarrier so that he would lead us to the next phase of our plans.

With what I knew, I managed to get my hands on a Quinjet, in which I was currently in. A team that I had assembled and I were making our way towards the air base of the organisation. Despite being unable to fully hack into their systems, I was skilled enough to send a virus which would register our jet in their systems and our coming would be more subtle than it would otherwise have been.

In order to get the exact place where the Helicarrer was, we were using a system to track the energy that the Spectre was emitting. "Transport Six-Six-Bravo, please relay confirm codes. I've got you on the computer but not on the day log. What is your haul? Over" the voice of an agent came through our speakers and I knew my plan had worked as to register our vehicle.

"Arms and ammunition. Over" I replied and got ready for what was to come.

Everyone was preparing on the back of the jet, wearing their suits and holstering their weapons, whereas I had moved to the side and opened a box that was laying there. I took the bow in my hand and prepared the arrow with which I would blow one of the engines up. I would have to remember and thank Clint at some point for insisting on teaching me how to use his weapon of choice, as it did turn out to be handy.

The pilot opened the cargo hold and I looked at the air vehicle as I took in its distance, the air currents and where exactly I needed to put the arrow to cause as much destruction as possible. I might not be as skilled as Clint to shoot arrows while fighting with great ease, but I was good enough to do what was needed of me in this moment.

I held the string of my bow, checked my target one last time and released the arrow.

I watched as the explosive arrow planted itself right next to one of the four main engines. Once I made sure everything was going according to plan, I let the explosion echo through the sky as we landed on the Helicarrier and made our way in.

"Keep that engine down" I order a handful of agents. "Alpha team, wait for the cameras to go dark." I pointed to some others. "The rest of you, say close" I finished and a wave of 'Yes, ma'am' and 'Got it' was heard as I started making my way to the control centre. The next important step would be to shut the other engines down before they managed to repair the one that I had just blown up.

* * *

 _Clint's POV_

The moment the explosion occurred everyone parted ways. Natasha had confirmed that she and Dr. Banner were fine, though I highly doubted it for the latter as he was already agitated from the disagreement that we had in his laboratory. Stark and Rogers left to repair the engine that I could only guess Skye blew up, Thor disappeared God knows where and I followed the director in the control panel. Coulson and Hill were there with us as well.

If one more engine was to go down, then we would drop to the ground. Something I was really not keen on doing.

"We need full evac on the lower hangar level" Fury instructed Hill and myself and we got ready to go there. We had just took a couple of steps before something was thrown our way and Hill screamed, "Grenade!", and was sent flying to the ground as I joined her a few meters to the side.

I managed to get my bearings fast enough, despite the ringing in my ears before of how close I was to the small explosion. I saw a few agents, with their weapons up coming in from a corridor and despite them wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. gear I knew they were the enemy. My bow was thrown a bit further than I was and by the time I got to it, Fury had already incapacitated almost all the enemies, and the one he missed was put down by Hill who had already got her bearings.

"We have the Hulk and Thor on Research Level 4. Levels 2 and 3 are dark" someone announced. Fury and Hill quickly decided on a way to act and she gave the appropriate orders. I was shooting arrow after arrow, as the people we were fighting seemed to have no end.

I was about to shoot another arrow when I felt the vibration rising up from somewhere behind me. I had spent my fair amount of time training Skye so that I knew how to recognise her use of powers blindfolded. "Watch out!" I screamed but was too late as she shot a vibration beam in our way, making me dock to the side so as not to be hit. Fury was the first one to get up and spot her and so he shot her with his gun. I was somewhat glad that he didn't hit her but at the same time I was not sure whether that was a good sign. It was only a moment later that our systems failed and then another engine started losing power, as we slowly started falling to the ground.

I saw something attached to a computer and went to pick it up, which turned out to be a USB stick. Skye must have used her powers to shot it and get in our systems. I cursed under my breath and broke the small device in my palm. Everyone was running around, trying to get the systems back on play.

"It's Skye" Fury said through the comms. "She took out our systems and is headed for the detention level. Coulson is right behind her. Does anybody copy?"

I was about to reply when I heard Natasha's voice. "This is agent Romanoff. I copy" she said and then her end went quiet. "Permission to join, sir" I said as we didn't have any more enemy forces to worry about and all our effort was put into getting the engine back up. I couldn't possibly be of any assistance there at the moment and following Skye was something I needed to do.

"Granted" Fury said without as much as turning in my direction and I took off behind Coulson, Natasha and Skye.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

As soon as I shot my USB in one of the computers, I was sure that my program would do its work and one of the engines would soon fail and there would be chaos in the whole of the Helicarrier. That was when I moved swiftly through the corridors that I had memorised and made my way to Loki's holding cell, where another agent had already taken out any security and had freed the alien.

The moment I walked in the holding cell I saw Loki in the door of his cell, smirking and waiting. Soon the reason became apparent as his brother came rushing in the room, trying to tackle Loki and put him back on his cell. However, as the God of Mischief, Loki had created an illusion of himself and Thor ended up locking himself up instead of his brother.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" The dark-haired Asgardian asked with a shake of his head.

Instead of an answer however the God of Thunder hammered the glass in an attempt to break it, alerting the security measures prepared by Fury. He would soon fall off the plane with the press of a button. Loki however wanted to be the one to do so and I stepped away from the control panel, taking the sceptre from his hand.

With my powers, I was feeling every vibration that was coming from the room and I felt a different pair of steps closing in. Creating a mental image of what was going on around me, I translated the familiar steps to Phil's ones, as he finally caught up with me after I inserted the USB minutes ago. I looked at the agent who was standing in the doorway. "Stay here" I commanded and he didn't second guess me. Focusing my powers in my legs, I jumped high with a proper boost and hang from a pipe on the side of the wall, waiting for the second in command to come in the room.

"The humans think us immortal", he dramatically said. "Shall we test that?"

But before he released his brother cell from the Helicarrier, a grunt was heard from underneath me as the other agent fell to the ground unconscious from a blow that Coulson delivered. "Move away, please" he said, pointing a kind of weapon towards Loki. I could see his eyes darting around trying to locate me, but it was more essential for Loki not to escape. These were his orders after all, and I couldn't blame him. I wanted to make him see the truth in what we did, but since I was holding the sceptre and not Loki, reasoning with him was not possible.

I saw him move towards Loki and talking with him. I stalled for as much as I could, but when he activated his weapon I had to protect the Asgardian.

I absorbed the vibration when I landed behind Coulson, so that he couldn't hear me and did the only thing I could. I pierced his back with the sceptre, earning a gasp from him and a yell from Thor who was looking at everything play out and was unable to help.

"Skye?" Coulson whispered in shock when I pulled back the sceptre and he fell to the ground. I couldn't look at him, not after I did what I did. I knew I needed to do that, he was a threat after all, but that didn't make it all too easy. So, instead I focused on what I could and that was to complete the mission.

"Sir, there are a couple more people approaching" I said as I felt the vibrations sent from both Nat's and Clint's running footsteps. "You go to the exit point and I will deal with them" I said and after I received the nod from our leader, I exited the room.

I made my way towards my brother and sister and I felt them stop when my footsteps reached their ears. They both went into hiding as if this would help them. Since Clint was one of the two, he was the one who knew the full length of my abilities, so he knew he wouldn't be able to sneak up on me. Despite all that, I kept walking as if I wasn't aware of their hiding spots.

I was in a narrow corridor, restraining my movements, metal pipes were all around and subsequently a lot of places to take cover. I knew that neither preferred to use deadly force against me, but I guessed that if I didn't back down they would be forced to. And I also knew that there was no way that I would manage to convince them to join us, they were unable to see the truth until Loki's sceptre touched their hearts. The moment when I stepped in between their hiding places an arrow was shot in my direction, aiming for my knee and trying to incapacitate me.

I swiftly and easily stepped away and lifted my hand towards Clint, aiming my vibrations to his bow. By directing all the quakes to his weapon I tore it apart from the inside out, leaving him with a bunch of arrows at his back and probably a knife and pistol, since he usually carried them with him at all times.

Just as the bow was destroyed I felt my vibrations picking up Natasha trying to sneak up on me from behind. I immediately turned around hand outstretched as I send a beam in her direction, only for her to tightly grab my wrist and redirect the blow so that I just hit air.

Without missing a beat, I turned around and brought my elbow at her face, making her release my hand so as to guard her face. As she stepped back Clint fell down from his nest sending a kick my way, which I barely managed to sidestep from. I kicked the back of his knee just in time before Natasha ambushed me from the other side. I had to admit that this was way harder than I had initially anticipated. Them both working together, especially after all the years they spent as partners during missions, made them this amazing duo. There was this rumour that had once risen that they were telepaths and they spoke mentally to one another when they were sent in the field.

So as Natasha came once again, all I could think of was quake the whole place, making the room we were in shake as hell. Thankfully this bought me a few seconds as Clint, who was already in one knee, fell on his back and Nat had to grab from one of the railings. With that in mind, I send a beam to the bar that Nat held onto, making it collapse and Natasha fall to the level below.

Clint, however, being used to my powers, got up quickly and attacked again. With my back turned on him, he sent a powerful roundhouse kick that hit me just above my shoulders and on the side of my neck. The blow made me fall sideways, and hit my head on the railing just as Natasha managed to somehow get back on the corridor and carefully close in on me.

I felt as if a part of a fog had been lifted from my head, a fog that I didn't know was there until that moment. I could suddenly think somewhat like my old self, with the voice in my head suddenly going quiet. Like before Loki touched me with his sceptre, like before all I cared about was to utilise the Cube.

My head was pounding hard, as if someone smashed it with a hammer, only I didn't know if it was solely from the hit that I just took.

"Nat? Clint?" I asked when both closed in and my brother hesitated for a second. Natasha didn't do as much, instead she sent a punch that landed on the side of my face and threw me into oblivion.


	52. Code Name: Quake

**AN: Happy 2019 everyone! As promised, here is the new chapter. Once again, let me thank _MegaDiary123_ for Beta-ing this one. Enjoy :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

When Natasha punched me, only for a moment, I felt at peace. There was nothing in my head, constantly instructing me of my next move or keeping me on track. But, as I said, that was only for a moment.

The next thing I know, there is a sharp pain exploding in my skull, making me leave the sleeping state that I was in. I wanted to sit up sharply and take in my surroundings only to discover that I was bound on the bed that I was lying on top of. The upper half of the bed was in an angle, allowing me to short of sit up, and not be completely horizontal on the floor. Without a second thought, I directed my vibrations to the shackles, trying to break them from the inside out only to come up empty handed. Startled I looked down, to see inhibitors wrapped around my hands, trying to prevent the use of powers.

"Skye. You're going to be all right" I heard Natasha speaking from somewhere on my right and turned my head in her direction.

A laugh escaped my lips, only making my sister more uneasy. The pain in my head was not leaving and all I wanted to do was get out of those bounds, so I really could not see how I would be all right. "You know that?" I asked. "Is that what you know?" I could tell that my answer was not was she was expecting or, to be more precise, what she was hoping to get.

With my head still throbbing, I couldn't really focus on anything in particular other than this odd feeling that was left in me. I wouldn't be able to describe it even if I wanted to. Slowly, _very_ slowly, I was getting more and more accustomed to the annoying feeling in my skull, and so all the memories of what happened while I was under Loki's control starting coming back to me in waves. Forcefully I hit my head back on the bed, as I recalled everything that I did… everyone that I killed.

Natasha, who had gotten up to get me a glass of water saw my action. "You got to level out. It's going to take time" her tone oh so smoothing and comforting.

"You don't understand–" I said but stopped short before saying anything else. Of course she did. She was the only person who I knew that could completely and utterly understand what I was going through, especially mentally. "Sorry" I added and averted my gaze from hers as she turned to look at me.

At that moment the door opened, and Clint stood at the entrance of the… whatever I was in. It was not a cell, and definitely not the medic bay, so… Why was I not in a cell? After everything that I did, this was the least that I deserved. After Phill… _Shit._ How did they even stand to look at me?

A hand suddenly landed on my shoulder, startling me and making me flinch away. "Hey there Kid" Clint said as he let his hand fall on his knee as he was crouching next to me. I tried to smile back, but the action seemed alien to me (no pun intended). So I did what I did before with Nat and I looked away, my eyes glaring at me lap so hard as if this would help my case at all.

I knew that they weren't going to let me out of it so easily, so me initiating the talk would at least give me the illusion of control. "Why am I back? How did you get them out?"

From the corner of my eyes I could see them exchange glances when I said 'them' in my final question. After all they had no idea what was going on inside my head while under the influence of the Tesseract, but thankfully they didn't say anything about it. "Cognitive recalibration" Clint said with a smile on his face. And when I shot him a questioning look Natasha elaborated. "I hit you really hard on the head"

I managed to master a small upwards tilt of one side of my lips when she said that and the relief from both my siblings side was evident. "Thank you" I replied.

The small smile must have been enough evidence for Clint that I was 'me' enough to relieve the bounds in my hands.

This brief moment of relief was instantly overpowered as my mind went back to everything that I did in the last day or two. "Guys" I said as Clint finished releasing my second hand. They both stopped and looked at me, taking in the serious expression on my face. "How many agents did I–?" I was about to ask but didn't get the chance to finish as both instantly replied in the same way.

"Don't" there was a command in this single word. Natasha was the one to continue. "Don't do this to yourself Skye" she said as serious as ever. "This is Loki. This is monsters and magic, and nothing we were ever trained for" she turned back to look for confirmation from Clint who nodded without missing a beat.

"We are not blaming you for anything. You know I don't go easy on you, you are my rookie after all. But Natasha is right, as always" he whispered the last part trying to lift the mood of the room a little bit with his classic humour. But when he was met with silence he just continued, "This wasn't your fault" he emphasised every single word with confidence, trying to make his message clear as day. "If there is one person you want to blame, let that be Loki"

"Loki" I repeated the name finally lifting my head to look at my brother. "He got away, didn't he?" I received a nod and let out a deep sigh. I still remembered the plan that I had created for his escape. That and the back-up plan, and the back-up plan to that one. Unfortunately it seemed that I had done my job as his first-in-command too good.

"I don't suppose you know where" he replied, with a hint of question in his tone, though he did see my answer coming from miles away.

I sat up even further and brought my knees up my chest, wrapping my arms around them. "Didn't need to know, didn't ask" I got the glass of water that Natasha gave me. I held it and though my eyes were at its direction I was not really looking at it. Instead I was lost in my mind thinking of what I knew of his plans. "He's going to make his play soon, though. Today" I said and nodded absentmindedly.

"We've got to stop him" Clint tone was confident.

This made me snap my head at his direction. "Yeah?", I asked sarcastically. "Who's 'we'? I told Loki what he needed to know to tear this team apart. I told him about _you_ " I started, my hand pointing at them. "I told him about Bruce, how to aggravate him, to make him lose control. I told him about Stark. He asked, I delivered. No questions asked. Anything he said, I would have done" I continued and didn't notice how I had let my legs fall the edge of the bed and they hung loosely, as I stared at the floor. Or how the other two people in the room sat on either side of me, Natasha's hand on my back and Clint's on my shoulder. "I knew who you were. Oh, I knew very well who you were. I just didn't care. Because for all I knew, only Loki mattered, Loki and his plan. I instructed Loki to get out, as I dealt with you two just as–" I choked on the words as I relived my action of piercing Phil from the back and he never saw it coming. He trusted me and what did I do in return? Stab him in the back.

"Just as what, Skye?" I heard Nat whisper from my right. I shook my head, tears running now freely from my cheeks. I couldn't tell them, how would they stand to look at me if I did? "I know it's hard. But you need to tell someone, otherwise it's gonna weight you down. Whatever it is, you can't carry the guilt with you, you need to let it go" she soothed, talking from experience.

"How can I?" I questioned, and wasn't sure whether what I asked was coherent enough for them to understand. My eyes were tightly shut and my sobbing had turned to hiccups.

I felt Clint squeeze my shoulder. "We are here for you Skye, _always_. No matter what happened, you will always be our little sister" he sincerely replied.

 _Shit,_ I thought as I was so easily persuaded to tell them. I lifted my head looking at either side and got my siblings attention at its fullest. "Just as Phil" I whispered but from the shock in their faces I knew that they had heard me just fine. I knew that they mustn't have known. Especially since I had made sure the cameras in the detention room were down. Their lack of reply had me taking a shuddering breath. "I am a monster" I added my head hanging once again.

This seemed to snap them back into reality as they both kneeled in front of me, Natasha gently grabbing my chin and making me look at them. "Skye, listen to me very carefully. You are _not_ a monster"

I made a move to brush her hand off my chin and shake my head only for my wrist to be grabbed by Clint. "We knew" he smiled gently and sadly simultaneously.

This had me blink a handful of times. "You did?" I asked, my voice a bit hoarse from the crying. "How?"

"Phil left to follow you after you left to go to Loki's cell. You came out of there, he didn't. So it must have been either you or Loki and from your reaction and guilt… Well, we didn't say anything but I think we both understood that it was you"

I looked at them with disbelief. When both met my glare with an understanding expression I knew they were telling the truth. "Who else–?"

"No-one" I was cut by Clint. "It was only us two, Hill and Fury who knew that Phil was following you. Fury told everyone that it was Loki". I shot him a look, as if asking _"So, Maria and Fury know?"_ , and he intercepted that. "They don't know the details, so they will probably ask later on though I have a feeling you're gonna tell them yourself after this whole mess if over"

"Yeah". I didn't want to think of that now.

What mattered now was finding Loki. If not for anything else, then for AC.

There must have been a difference in my expression as I was given space to stand up and walk to the side, where a washbasin was and I went to throw some water on my face to clear my thoughts. "So" I said as I turned back to look at the others, a goal clear in my head now as I pushed all other thoughts and distraction to the side. "Who's left? Because if no-one else is going to deal with the alien, I will do so myself" I declared.

Before either had the time to open their mouths and reply, the door opened and Captain freaking America walked in. "Time to go" he declared.

"Go where?", asked Clint.

"I'll tell you on the way. You can fly one of those jets can't you?"

"That, he can" I said and only then did he finally realise that I was in the room as well. "But I'm coming with Capsicle" and heard Clint scoff and saw him smirk at my reply, and _especially_ the nickname. With that he shot me a smile and I turned my attention back to the Captain who was looking questionably at Natasha, who of course nodded.

"You got a suit?"

He asked and this time I actually did smirk at him, taking the inhibitors off my hands and feeling my powers run through my veins. "Yup, that I do". We all left to gear up and met at the take off site, to steal a Quinjet and head towards the Stark Tower of course.

When we did get in the jet and set course to New York, Captain Rogers spoke again. "We need code names for when we are out there. I already know of Hawkeye and Black Widow and I guess you do as well. I also take that you know how to call me in case you need anything?", he questioned and I nodded in reply. "Good. So, what do I call you?"

I thought about it for a second before reviewing the field name that we had prolong decided with Clint I would use in case I was to act outside my 'agent' status. "You can call me Quake"


	53. Here I Stand

**AN: Hey everyone! Let's start with.. you guessed it. Many thanks to my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123._ I know this chapter is smaller than you are used to and I am sorry about that, but I am not sorry for how I closed it. Hope you enjoy...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Stark, wearing his suit and all, managed to get to New York sooner than Nat, Clint, Rogers and I did with the Quinjet. By the time we arrived there was a portal on the sky, high above the Stark Tower. From there a whole army of the _Chitauri_ , since that's what Thor had named them, was storming in towards the city and Stark was trying his best to destroy as many as he possible could. Though for every one he shot down, two were taking his place.

That's how we got into the play, as we contacted Tony and instructed him to fly right in front of us for Natasha to shoot them, as she handled the Quinjet's weapons, under Clint's piloting supervision. And we did assist, taking down a reasonable amount of enemies until we closed in the Stark Tower and saw Loki fighting with his brother in the balcony of Tony's building. And I guess that Loki didn't particularly appreciate us opening fire in his direction and so, with a simple blast from the spectre, we were shot down.

There was no need for words as we all braced ourselves, Captain and myself mostly since we were not sitting anywhere and were just holding onto the handles over our heads as the Jet fell from the sky. We were, however, very lucky since Hawk was piloting and the abrupt fall of the small aircraft was smoothened as much as possible.

"We got to get back up there" Rogers said, taking the lead and running towards the Tower.

We hadn't even covered a decent amount of distance before we came to a slow stop, all of us looking at the portal as a giant thing crossed over. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. I mean, it was _enormous_! And could it be that this alien had only its size or external armour for its advantage? Pfft, of course not. It was also carrying a fair amount of Chitauri who jumped off the creature and on the buildings that surrounded us.

Suddenly there was a blast echoing nearby and we all snapped out of the daze we were in and run to take cover. "There are still civilians trapped up in there" Clint informed us, pointing at a bus that had stopped in the middle of the ruins.

The blasts echoed once more as Chitauri Chariots flew right above us and started firing at the street next to where we were hiding. People trying to run and survive the alien attack, but as they were like that in the open, it was like they were all carrying large targets on their backs. "They're fish in the barrel down there" Roger said, as if we didn't have eyes to notice that on our own.

"Take cover!" I said as I sensed a large number of aliens coming our way when the others were distracted. I lifted my hands and send a huge vibrational wave to the upcoming enemies, sending them flying a few meters back. But they were fast to get back on their feet and resume their advance on our position.

"We got this. It's good. Go" Nat said, looking at the Captain who in turn asked Clint if he thought they could hold them off.

"Captain" he started and I could see his mischievous smile play on the edges of his lips. "It would be my genuine pleasure" and with that he stood from his hiding spot. The head-shot instantly killed the alien but this was not the only trick up Hawk's sleeve, as the arrow was specially designed and shot the Chitauri in the surrounding proximity.

Just like that Natasha was on her feet, shooting at the enemy force but I knew that this couldn't possible hold for long enough. And there were people trapped in the bus nearby, but with the cover that Nat was creating, I doubted that Clint would have the time to get everyone out.

I could feel my heart beating in my chest as I heard my sister yell for me to cover for her as she changed ammo in her guns.

 _Well Skye,_ I thought to myself. _You wanted to come and stop Loki, this is what you get. Peachy…_ and with those thoughts I stood up and threw my hands above my head, creating a dome with my quakes, shielding the bus and the three of us.

In the mental image that I had constant in my head from the surrounding area, because of all the vibrations that were cursing through the streets and in to my legs, I could mentally see Natasha stop and turning to look at me. "Why didn't you start with that?"

As if to answer her question, all the enemy forces who were dealing with us shot in my shield simultaneously and I fell on one knee, just as the dome shrank just a little bit. "I haven't perfected it yet" I replied though greeted teeth, as I did my best to hold off the Chitauri until everyone was out of the unstopping vehicle. "Maybe hurry up?" I managed to get out as a second wave of shots were fired to the shield.

"Ready" Natasha stood next to me before I had the chance to ask as I had noticed the bus having been fully evacuated.

"Ready" Clint joined in at my other side, his bow tightly held and the string pulled back for when the first shot would be needed.

I looked from side to side, looking at my siblings. I was used to them being next to me like that but it was different now. It was not like all the other times we stood next to each other all those years. The seriousness, the _vibes_ they externalised were different. These people next to me were not my brother and sister. They were not Natasha and Clint, or even agent Romanoff and agent Barton.

No.

They were Black Widow and Hawkeye.

And they meant business.

And there was no way in Hell that I was going to be the one to slack off in the last minute. Because despite the lack of words I knew that they both waited to see what my next move would be.

So I stood.

With shaky legs because of the force trying to keep me down, but I stood.

I stood tall.

And I took my place among the two Avengers and I became Quake.

"Ready"


	54. Battle of New York

**AN: Hey everyone and many thanks to _MegaDiary123._ No more words, just action... please enjoy :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

We were fighting the Chitauri. Due to the close distance separating us, Clint had to resort to his hand-to-hand combat skills and leave archery for another time. We were holding our ground relatively well and as we were about to finish off with the last of the enemy forces that were surrounding us, Captain jumped in and helped with the finishing touches.

Soon, Thor followed after practically falling from the sky and wasn't looking in the best shape ever. I wonder what had happened to him. Though I refrained from asking, Rogers didn't seem to share the same opinion as I did. "The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable" the Asgardian answered to the WWII hero's question.

"Thor's right" Tony's voice was heard through our comms. "We got to deal with these guys first"

"I have unfinished business with Loki" Thor was fast to interrupt.

His interruption had me raising an eyebrow his way as I re-strapped my right gauntlet, which had fallen a bit out of place from the previous fight. "You think you're the only one?" I challenged only to be interrupted by Rogers who seemed to have taken the _Captain_ rank of our team.

"Save it. Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us, and that's what we need" he declared and I had a hard time not rolling my eyes. _Perfect, more aliens trying to kill us,_ I sarcastically thought as he continued speaking. "Without him these things could run wild". _Well, if he put it like that how could I complain?_

The sound of a motorcycle closing in stopped the Capsicle from giving any further orders and we all turned to look at Bruce who was closing in riding, you guessed it, a motorcycle. "So, this all seems… horrible" he said when we closed in around him.

"I've seen worse" Natasha replied and I didn't doubt it. But when the doctor apologised she continued, "No, we could use a little worse".

Though Tony and Captain were speaking I faintly heard the Iron Man saying that he was bringing the party to us, while all my focus was at the newcomer who was looking back at me just as intently as my name escaped his lips. And then he turned around as Tony came from around the corner, bringing with him this huge monster that was previously carrying a whole armada of Chitauri.

"I–I don't see how that's a party" Nat questioned and Bruce started walking towards that thing.

"Dr Banner" Captain stopped him in his tracks. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry"

"That's my secret, Captain" he said. His eyes met mine, glowing in a very familiar way as a smirk made its way to both our lips and I nodded at him, finishing off where he started as he turned to the monster transforming into the Hulk. "He is always angry" and with that the Hulk slammed his fist to what could only be the face of the creature making it tumble forwards. Then Tony shot small missiles to the now exposed-from-its-armor body and the thing went down hard.

As we gathered together, breathing this small victory in, the portal seemed to suddenly come more alive and more and more Chitauri started oozing through there. I clicked my tongue followed by a "Perfect" as all our attention turned to the sky.

And with that our small break was over and the Captain took the wheel and started ordering everyone to their positions. Turned out, that apart from Natasha, him and myself everyone else had flown somewhere else. It was up to us to keep the fighting on the ground, as much as possible that was, and protect as many people as we possibly could, though in my mind there was a voice saying that there would be a lot of casualties from today's battle.

* * *

Despite the fight having just re-started it was obvious that it wouldn't take all that long before the enemies overpowered us.

At the moment, I was sending wave after wave to Chitauri who just kept on coming, while trying my best to dodge the beams that they fired in my direction from their spears. I had just sent the last one flying to two other of its companions, making them topple over and at least partially slowing them down. As the enemy trio went down I turned around only to see Natasha jumping to Captain's shield who boosted her on the sky and towards one of the Chitauri Chariots who was flying above.

"What's she doing?" I asked as another shot was fired in our direction and the Captain threw his shield to kill the alien.

"Trying to close the portal" and with that we parted again, each going to do their thing.

"Hold on to something!" I screamed just to make sure that he would hear me, as I brought my hands to the ground hard and released my power making the concrete shake violently and cracking lines to decorate its surface.

"We don't want to destroy the city, we want to protect it!" The Captain yelled back as he continued his punches and kicks and shield throws.

"I know what I am doing" I bite back as I run up to an alien, dodged as he waved his spear and tried to separate my head from my body. The moment I was at its back I placed my hands on its armour and destroyed the metal, leaving him exposed so that it wasn't hard to finish him off.

"Do you?", he asked back before quickly adding, "Duck!". Tony landed in between us and shot a beam from his suit to the Captain's shield, while the later redirected it and took out most of the aliens in near proximity before Iron Man flew off to the skies once again.

I didn't even stand up as I hid behind an empty cab to take cover. As the alien, who didn't seem to be very bright, jumped over me and towards the Captain who was fighting off another enemy and had his back turned to me. _Peachy,_ I thought. If I were to blast him, he would fly towards Rogers and I would never hear the end of it. So instead I run up to the Chitauri who heard my approach in the last minute and turned around, but it was too late for him. I slid under his legs and shot him up in the sky, where he very conveniently crashed with a Chitauri Chariot. Hm… I wouldn't say no to that.

"Guys, the bank on 42nd past Madison. They've cornered lots of civilians in there" Clint's voice came echoed in our ears.

"I'll take this one" I said and started making my way there but before I jumped off the bridge that we were currently on I was stopped with a hand on my elbow.

On reflex I snatched my arm off the grip and brought my other hand up, ready for a shockwave only to see Rogers. Stupid man, grabbing someone in the middle of a war-zone. "Thank you" he spoke but before I replied my eyes and senses caught movement behind him. Not gently at all, I threw him on the ground and vibrated the alien who was about to pierce him from the back.

"That's twice already Captain. Get your head in the game" I told him as I helped him up and left him to fight his own battle as I jumped onto the street below and started running towards the bank that Hawkeye appointed moments ago.

Suddenly I was really glad for all the cardio that Clint and Maria made me do during training because, _boy_ , it came in handy. As soon as I laid my eyes on the building that I was heading towards I saw the people gathered on the ground, looking up. So I guessed if I were to deal with the Chitauri there I would have to go through the window. I picked up my speed and threw my hands towards the ground as I boosted my jump high up. Reaching the height I wanted, I broke the window with my shoulder and rolled in the building.

The moment I stood up I noticed an alien holding something like an explosive device in his hand and so, without even thinking about it, he crashed through the wall to the other side when I hit him with my quakes.

That alerted his two companions who didn't hesitate firing at me. I ducked behind a fallen desk, while still listening to the grenade-like-device as its beeping sound filled the room.

Before they had the chance to do anything else, the desk was sent flying at the direction of the two aliens. One of them fell to the ground as the desk crashed mainly onto him while the other's spear flew from his hand. I took this opportunity to close in and destroy the armour of the still-standing Chitauri, just as I had done before. I put all my strength into kicking him hard to the chest and he fell to the ground level and to his death. The people, who parted as the alien fell in the middle of where they were gathered, looked up at me.

I barely managed to get a, "Clear out!", before the last alien grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arm around my throat. I brought my elbow to his ribs multiple times, trying to make him fall off my back. When that didn't work I jumped, bringing my knees up in my chest and then forcefully down to the ground, generating as much power as I could using my whole bodyweight and threw him over my shoulder.

And just because I am the luckiest person in the whole universe, he happened to land right next to the grenade which was about to explode. I watched as if in slow motion as he grabbed it and lifted it to send it my way. But before it left his fingers the time run out and a blue explosion occurred, taking him with it. I barely managed to jump in time and create a vibrational dome around me when the blast met me and threw me out of the window. I had not taken into account the strength of the explosion of the thrust that it created and as soon as I was out of the building my dome disappeared and I crashed with my back on the roof of a car.

"Shit" I exclaimed as I lifted my torso and jumped off the vehicle.

I had just a moment to collect my breath before another, "Shit", left my lips as my mental image filled with the upcoming enemies.

"Everyone clear out! Hurry up!" I yelled at the firefighters and police officers who were helping the people from the bank to a safer place as I took off towards the aliens, trying to hold them off and buy the civilians some time.

I could feel my powers slowly draining but didn't have much of a choice really, there were a lot of lives at stake and there were just as many enemies coming in our direction. _Well,_ I thought. _There is always a first time for everything, right?_

And with that thought I brought my hands to the ground and closed my eyes. My mental image of my surroundings being the only thing guiding my quakes as I send them individually to all the enemy forces that I could see in my mind's eye. The vibrations traveled through the ground and in the bodies of the aliens, through their feet. And they did their job as one after the other, the Chitauri started to fall on the ground as they were torn apart from the inside out.

After that I collapsed back on the ground completely exhausted. Still alert if any more Chitauri came my way, but I really wasn't sure in what shape I would be in should something like that happen.

So, when I heard Natasha's voice saying that she could close the portal I let a small smile play on my lips as I sighed in relief. The smile was soon replaced by a grimace as Tony requested the portal to remain open for him to send a missile in.

"Stark, you know that's a one-way trip" Captain said and my eyes widened as my mind caught up to what was happening.

"Tony" I said. "Tony, you can't! What am I supposed to say to Pepper?" But he was not saying anything. He just directed the missile towards the open portal. "Tony!" I yelled at him almost desperate trying to make him snap out of whatever thoughts he was consumed by and answer me.

I watched him as he crossed the line separating Earth from outer space. "Tell her–" he started to say but then the connection was lost.


	55. The Sooner, The Better

**AN: Hello everyone! Apart from the classic thank you to _MegaDiary123,_ I want to thank all of you who reviewed on the last chapter. I do hope you like this one just as much, and so without further a due...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"You are all dismissed", Fury's words brought me out of the trance that I was in.

My eyes moved to the screen on the wall opposite to me, where the director was ready to end the video call that we had for the past few hours. "Sir", I hurried to say before the call was terminated. The other Avengers, who had gotten up to leave stopped momentarily looking at me and the pirate lifted his gaze to meet mine. "May I speak to you?", I asked and saw his eyebrow twitch. "In private?", I quickly added when none of the others made any move to exit the room, silently asking them for permission.

I half expected Natasha or Clint to ask everyone to get out, but it appeared unnecessary as everyone quietly left me alone in the huge conference room in the, quite destroyed, Stark Tower.

"What is it, agent?" He asked when the door behind me was locked. But when I didn't reply for some seconds he prompted again. "Skye…" he softly spoke and the use of my name made me shake my head and concentrate. "What is it that you want?", his facade as the hard front face of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been lifted off him and instead I was gazing at Nick. The man who despite what many said cared for every single one of his agents and viewed us as family.

"In regards to the recent events I was wondering if it would be best to step away from the organisation" I said and I could see disappointment fill the pirate's features. "Let me finish" I hurried to add before he reprimanded me for even thinking in that way. "You know better than anyone that I care for a lot of people who work in S.H.I.E.L.D.. Hell, I am pretty sure that the close relationship that I have with some of them must be against protocol but you never mentioned anything. I would hate for anything to happen to them because of me… because I am not trustworthy. We both know what happened to AC. I am also sure you understand that despite my brain being altered, and despite you not blaming me for it, I do blame myself and I don't want to be a risk to the others, because this is what I am at the moment: a risk.

"I respect you, I do, and this is why I am asking you to consider this option. This is not me running away like last time, it is completely different. What I am asking is that you decrease my Level 7 access to the organisation's archives and that you reposition me. I would love to be at the field and I would love to work to protect the people I care about, but maybe as a consultant? This way, if anything were to happen I wouldn't have access to critical files that could be used against you or anyone else" I finished and took a deep breath, while letting it our just as forcefully.

The man whose facial expressions had turned blank, was looking straight back at me as if he could read into my soul. After what seemed like forever to me his shoulders slumped, if only a tiny bit,and he sighed.

"Skye, look" he started. "The events of the past few days have exhausted a lot of people and have pushed them to the edge. I had the whole damn council demanding me to send a nuke to the city. I had people, _good people_ , die in the line of duty" I flinched at the last part. "I am sure that there are a lot of people who are going to be quite displeased that Maria will be my second after Phil and I am definitely sure that there will be more than a handful of people who will want to go behind my back. There are not a lot of people that I trust, but you are one of them"

"Sir–"

"No" he didn't even let me form a sentence. "You don't get to speak until I have finished my part. Is that understood?", he asked more out of kindness since his tone didn't leave any space for disagreement. So when I nodded he was quick to continue. "Good. Now, you _are_ one of the people I trust Skye. There are hundreds of agents who would kill to have your Clearance Level and yet you are fast to dismiss yours, or any Clearance Level for that matter, because you believe you are endangering your friends and the organisation in general. What this tells me is that you are fully trusted and worthy of how high you are in the ranks. And just because of all of that I am even going to increase your Clearance to match agent Hills.

"No", he continued and shook his finger when I opened my mouth. "I am _not_ finished". I gulped but remained quiet. "When you were under Loki's control, you were not able to access our files as easily because you were considered a compromised agent. So _if,_ which I really doubt will happen, something similar happens, we will follow protocol and your access will disappear.

"Now, you all have a leave of absence and since the council wants to know who you are, your files have been sealed and only a select few know your identity or anything about you. Use this time to relax as much as you can, because when I call you back I expect you to come. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes" I answered.

"Good. Now go and try not to overthink about what happened" and with that the screen went black and the room was filled with silence.

I didn't know how much time passed since Fury had terminated the call but I was lifted out of my thoughts when someone knocked on the door of the conference room and the door whooshed open. "We are going to Central Park to see the Asgardians off this planet, _finally_ " Bruce said. "I am guessing you are coming as well?", he questioned and I could tell that some of his concern had leaked to his voice.

I took a deep breath and turned around, making a great effort to smile as I walked past him. "The sooner the better, right?" I asked and could hear a light laugh emitting from the doc.

* * *

 _Pepper's POV_

I was in my flight back from Washington when a portal opened on top of New York and aliens cursed through. I could do nothing but watch in horror when Tony flew through there, carrying a missile on his back.

I had ordered the pilot to land as soon as possible, only to be informed that we would not be able to touch ground in New York because of the battle and we eventually landed in New Jersey and had to drive back to the Stark Tower. Of course, Happy was on the wheel as I sat on the back as my thoughts ran wild. When we did arrive at the tall building, there was no-one there and when I asked J.A.R.V.I.S. he said that everyone was currently at Central Park.

"Perfect. Just perfect" I found myself speaking to no-one in particular as Happy was looking from the distance in silence. I took a few deep breaths before somehow collecting myself. "Will you let me know when they come back, please?" I asked the A.I. to receive a positive reply. I turned back to Happy who had yet to move. "Please, go and have some rest. I'll wait for the others to come" I smiled at him, but I was quite positive it resembled more of a grimace.

"I'm gonna wait here with you, if that's okay" he said and walked closer, leading me to the only intact sofa in the well-destroyed room.

I let out a sigh. "Thank you" there was no need for more words as we patiently waited for the others to come back.

It must have been a solid hour, 60 whole minutes, or at least this is how long I thought had gone by, before J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice let me know of a car being pulled in the garage/Tony's workshop. And the moment the elevators reached our floor and there was this characteristic 'Bing!', I rushed and waited for the metal doors to pull apart.

"Hey, sweetie" Tony said with his characteristic playful smile on his face.

I gaped at him, and without even thinking about it I slapped him hard on the cheek. "Hey, sweetie?" I questioned. " _Hey, sweetie?_ Are you _freakin'_ serious right now? You carried a missile on your back, went through a portal to outer space and all you say is 'Hey, sweetie?'. Oh you have some nerve" I yelled at him and he had remained quiet during my whole monologue, still a bit startled by the slap. Then I pulled him hard closer to me our lips connecting, if only for a second, before I pushed him away and hit him in the chest. "You don't get to do that and have me worried sick and then come back and have that stupid smile on your face as if nothing happened" I said and finally let a couple of tears escape my eyes as they were fighting their way to the surface for a few good hours now.

I was left breathing heavily and that was the only sound in the room really, as I looked into those brown eyes and dared him to say something.

There was a sudden burst of laughter which had me tear my gaze off of the billionaire's one. The familiar sound throwing me off a bit. "Really sorry Pepper" a familiar voice echoed from behind the man who I was now pushing aside only to reveal another pair of people, one whom I had no idea who he was and one that I had not seen up-close for over a year now. "I tried to hold it in but I couldn't" Skye said as she kept on laughing and held her stomach from how hard she was enjoying the situation.

"Skye?" I questioned, not expecting to see her here. True I did get a glimpse of her in the fight in New York but I was, definitely, not expecting her to come here.

"Oh, boy" she said and used her finger to take off some of the happy tears that escaped her eyes. "You should have seen my reaction when the idiot over here came back from the port–"

Her words were cut off as I closed the distance between us and enfolded her in a fierce hug. Her arms hugged my back as her head rested on the space between my collarbone and shoulder. My hands were pushing hard on _her_ back, as if I was afraid that this was an illusion and that she would disappear if I didn't hold her firmly enough. I felt her tense under my touch at some point and short of flinch away and was fast to retract and look at her face as she grimaced in pain.

"Shit, Skye I am so sorry! Are you hurt? Of course you're hurt, what am I even talking about" I started mumbling and was interrupted with light touch on my shoulder.

I turned to look at the brunette who was looking back at me with a reassuring look. "It's fine, really" she tried but could see that I was not completely convinced. So she let out a sigh and turned to look at the men in the room who were looking at our interaction. "I am sure you all have questions and I guess I should answer them, right?" Her eyes travelled and met those of the only man whose identity I didn't know. "The sooner, the better?" She asked and he scoffed with a light laughter escaping his lips.


	56. Past Interactions

**AN: Morning :) As always, many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ for editing this, lately I've been sending the chapters in the last minute and yet the get corrected in time. I know a lot of you were waiting for this (or so I think), so here is a small flashback for y' all.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

 _It was one rainy night somewhere in Minnesota, if I wasn't mistaken. I was slowly but surely making my way to Canada and I had found a pretty remote, small village near enough the border with the other country so that if I wanted I could cross over, but far away so that my tremors wouldn't raise too many questions._

 _After I left the Academy I made some fast cash by using my technology and hacking skills, selling information and fixing computer systems to people who asked and who were willing to pay good cash for it. Nothing too shady, I did have some ethics that I would never betray._

 _So, between checking what was going on inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and making some money, I bought myself my van, which was the one that I still had and was also the one that Tony's people found me in when I tried hacking into Stark Industries. Anyhow, with this means of transportation and living arrangements, since I_ did _live in the van, I set myself to going somewhere remote so that I wouldn't bother anyone. And, in best case scenario, try to get the grips of my new found powers which would make everything around me shake without my command._

 _I had just finished my shift from that nice little cafe that I was currently working at as a waitress. The owners were really kind, a married couple who wanted to raise a family and pass the family business of running the cafe to their children. Because they were really happy with the peaceful and quiet life that they had and they had no worries about the future. After all, nothing too exciting ever happened to that village._

 _So when I found out that they wanted a person to help out with the shop, I was the first in line to try and get the job. After I checked their background and made sure that everything checked out, of course._

 _I could tell that they were wondering how in the world did a 17-year-old girl ended up in a small town as theirs, asking for employment nonetheless. But they didn't ask any questions. In my hard drive I had all the documents that I had gathered over the years about myself, one of which was my high school graduation paper. After I showed them this they just accepted me, probably thinking that I was running away from something, which was spot on. So, just like that, and I had become a part of their family. They always paid me in cash, more often than not giving me more that my weekly pay-check should be and I always thanked them for their generosity._

 _That was how I found myself walking towards my home-slash-van. As every time before I had parked it in the back of the cafe, hidden from plain view. I unlocked it and opened the back door to throw my backpack inside before making my way to the driver's seat. I was just about to jump in but as I checked the area around, a habit that I hadn't gotten rid of and I was surely glad for it, I saw a figure lying behind some dumpsters a few meters away._

 _The rain had really picked up at that moment and after having an argument with myself, I let out a breath and slammed the car door shut, making my way towards the stranger._

 _"_ _Hey, man, you okay over there?" I asked only to get no reply. I tucked the hood of my jacket, securing it better over my head and I leaned on the edge to see what was going on. We didn't get any junkies in this place after all._

 _"_ Shit! _" I exclaimed when I saw a person laying there, no t-shirt on and only some purple trousers on, and even those where roughly cut at his knees. I run up to him and kneeled next to him checking for a pulse and letting out a breath when I found one. "Can you hear me?" I didn't really expect any reply, not that I got any either way. I huffed and looked around. My shift from the coffee shop was the last of the day and the cafe was closed now. I ran my hand through my hair, as I was contemplating what I could do at the moment. I couldn't possible leave the man there and I had no idea what had happened to him. He didn't have any bruises on and from a quick scan I couldn't find any needle marks, so I was fairly certain he wasn't drugged either. But that didn't solve any of my questions as he was clearly not sleeping, but was unconscious. "I am_ so _going to regret this" I muttered under my breath as I made up my mind._

 _I threw his arms over my neck, and then his whole upper body, picking him up with a fireman's carry as I made my way towards the van._

* * *

 _As I did every night, I drove off towards the forest close to the town, where there was no other soul in the near proximity other than myself. Well, myself and the mystery guy that was. I had placed him on the back of my van and onto my bed, after wrapping a towel on him to get as much water as possible before covering him with my blankets, making sure he was warm enough. After all, I had no idea for how long he had been under the harsh weather and if he didn't catch a cold after all of that I would be extremely grateful._

 _I sat on the shotgun seat, my knees brought up to my chest and my arms tightly hugging them. I would often check on the back, just to make sure that there was no change in the stranger's condition before I found myself too tired to continue like that and so I drifted off to a light sleep._

 _Or so I wanted to believe, because just as many nights after I left the Academy, my sleep ended up being a restless one as I couldn't keep control of my powers when I entered unconsciousness. And, just as many nights before, I woke up to be met with my quakes. Only this time I jumped from my sitting position from the light touch of someone tapping me on the shoulder._

 _It didn't take more than one touch from him, before my instincts took over. Without really thinking what I was doing I had the person who was tapping me in a tight hold, his hand twisted behind his back and his face on the driver's seat. I actually had to blink a couple of times before my eyes cleared from the sleep haze and I realised what I was doing. Recognising the guy that I was holding down, and was struggling to escape, as the man who I had picked up a few hours prior was enough to make me release my hold and for him to let out a hiss as he rubbed his wrist._

 _I watched as he carefully backed off towards the far end of the van, getting his breathing under control. This was totally not the way that I wanted this to turn out._

 _I registered that the shaking had yet to stop. From the moment that I woke I knew that this was not like some of my worse episodes, and I should have been able to stop it by now without any problems. But, as it turned out, it was not that easy because of my high alert when I was abruptly woken up by a stranger. And I needed space and privacy to try and take the quake in, because it wouldn't stop on its own._

 _"_ _You need to leave" I said to the guy and properly stood up, going to the back of the van. I picked up a really large t-shirt that I had as a spare and threw it as his chest._

 _He looked at it questionably and then I turned around as I felt the buzzing in my arms grow stronger and stronger by the second. I tightly closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to take everything in. I knew the van like the back of my hand, so when I reached for the door handle and opened the back door I didn't even need to look at what I was doing._

 _"_ _Go" I told him and made to step away from the door, my forehead resting on the side of the van as it was not the biggest vehicle in the market._

 _I didn't hear him say anything else, nor did I detect him making any move to exit. The buzzing had, by that time, reached my shoulders and I knew that I wouldn't be able to contain it for much longer and that I needed to release it._ Soon. _"Leave!" I yelled at him only to get a really quiet, one-word reply._

 _"_ _No"_

Oh you're got to be kidding me! _I thought and took another deep breath just as May and Natasha had taught me. "What?" I managed to phrase with difficulty._

 _"_ _Despite the fact that you almost broke my arm there is no way that I am leaving you here in the middle of an earthquake. It's not safe to drive and if I am to go, then you are coming with" he spoke and from the volume of his voice I could tell that he was carefully coming closer to me._

 _I felt him touch my shoulder, trying to turn me around so that I would follow him out of the van and whatever control I had disappeared as my focus shattered. I did turn around, and he tried to get my hand to pull me out, only for me to escape his light grip and to extend both hands to his chest and let loose. My powers surged through my hands and to his torso as he was sent flying from the open door of the van and crushed at the neared tree trunks, completely destroying it and continuing to fly until I lost him from my sight, which was not that hard given that all of that was happening in the middle of the night._

 _I cursed loudly as I looked down at my arms, only to see that all the buzzing had subsided and almost completely disappeared, the quake that I was creating to the surrounding area also dispersing._

 _I knew that something was going to happen and that I would need to leave this place. Nothing so good lasted for as long as it did without something destroying it. I closed the open back door and climbed to the driver's seat. I would have to go to the cafe to leave the keys and a letter before disappearing once again, first making sure that I had erased all my digital presence, and–_

 _A sound that came from the woods made me stop short before I turned the keys and turned the car on. I furrowed my brows as I heard it again. It almost sounded like a… scream? Howl?_

 _My curiosity got the better of me, given that this was the first time that I registered this sound ever since I started coming to this part of the forest. I got out of my van. Closing the door behind me and looking questionably at the direction where the stranger whose name I didn't even learn, and whom I had just killed, had moments before disappear to. I started walking towards there and made it to the first destroyed trunk before my ear picked up the sound of thundering steps, closing in on my location in a rapid speed._

 _Without thinking twice about it, I bolted back to my van, trying to get there as fast as I could and drive away. I didn't even manage to cover half the distance before the heavy steps where right on me and I turned around to see what was happening and prepare myself for what was coming._

 _I barely managed to bring my hands up to cover my face before I saw a flash of green and I was sent flying. My back crashed on the side of the van, and the back of my head soon followed and I was engulfed into darkness._

* * *

 _My coming back to consciousness was really fast. One moment I was surrounded by darkness and in the next I had this splitting headache that made me grunt. I squished my eyes before really slowly opening them up, only to see the side of my van._

 _It took a second for my mind to catch up to what was happening, or to be more precise what had_ happened _, and I immediately rolled on my back, as I was lying on my chest by that time. Before I managed to complete my action though I came to a stop as someone gripped my shoulder, not allowing me to roll any further. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, you have a very nasty cut in the back of your head. Here let me help you" the voice said and the hands moved to my back to help me up._

 _Before he managed to do anything else though, I had pushed the hand aside and had kicked the person with what little strength I had, as I pushed myself in a sitting position._

 _"_ _Hey, hey" the guy who I had found last night raised his hands in a surrendering manner. The guy who had flown off my van and there was no way he had survived. Flown in the same direction as whatever had just moments later attacked me…_

 _"_ _Who are you?" I asked as my mind caught up to what was happening._

 _"_ _I am a doctor. I am only trying to help" he said but made no move to come closer. "You should be really careful with that" he said and pointed at the back of his own head. "You have a severe concussion, okay?", he continued speaking when I didn't say anything. "Can you tell me your name?"_

 _I knew that I shouldn't, it made absolutely no sense for me to tell him my name. Not even the owners of the cafe knew my real name, they thought my name was Daisy. It still surprised me to that day that they actually believed it. And I would later on blame it on the possible concussion that I had, because there was no other explanation for what came out of my mouth. "Skye" I said and found my voice more hoarse than I expected._

 _"_ _It's nice to meet you Skye" the man said with a smile as he brought his hands down. "I am Bruce"_


	57. Rising Tide

**AN: Hey everyone! If you usually skip this part, _please read_ , thank you in advance because this is going to be a large _AN_. So, this is the last chapter of the first Book of this story, which is kinda like the first part. I am really sorry for not uploading on Saturday like usual, it's been a crazy week and I have been under the weather lately. **

**Back to the important stuff, as I mentioned this is the last chapter of the first part of this story. And since this whole journey started we (my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123_ and I) have been consistent into uploading once a week, every week for more than 8 months. We both do love the story, but we need to get our batteries recharged to continue with the second part. Book 2 will be uploaded in this link, continuing as Chapter 58 and so on. The only thing is that I am not sure about is when that will be. I have said it before and I am saying it again, I am _not_ abandoning this story. We will continue with Ch58 after we have some chapters from the 2nd Book written in advance to make it easier to upload consistently every week. This is the simple reason why I am not going to mark this story as "Complete", because it's not. It's still an on going story that's on a brief pause for the time being. I just don't know exactly when it will be continued, hopefully soon enough.**

 **Yeah, that was it mostly. I want to thank every single one of you for reading/supporting/reviewing this story, you have been so supportive this past year and I can't thank you enough for your kindness. I will see you again, hopefully sooner than later, not sure exactly when though. Feel free to drop a review or PM me for more information and I will definitely write you back :)**

 **On behalf of _MegaDiary123_ and myself, and for the time being, we are out!**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Well, that's one Hell of a way to meet" Tony's voice echoed through the room.

Bruce laughed at his surprise. "You think?", he questioned the billionaire. "But I think this introductory story pretty much sums up our whole journey together. We both had issues, obviously, and they all were similar as well" he looked over at me and I simply gave him a nod.

After all that we went through together at that point in our lives it was easy for both of us to understand what the other person was thinking just by looking at the other's eyes. So the silent permission that Bruce was asking didn't go unnoticed. After all, he didn't really know what my relationship with Pepper and Tony was and how much they knew about me and my past. And I did truly appreciate the fact that he wanted to make sure we were on the same page about disclosing our how the two of us met and what had happened at that period. I had let him know that the pair sitting across from us knew about me, but he still didn't know how _much_ they knew.

"We were running from people, and as I found out recently it turned out that we both were running from S.H.I.E.L.D.. We didn't have much control over what was happening to us and from what I have gathered neither wanted to hurt anyone. So, I guess you could say that despite starting off on the wrong foot, we developed an understanding and we did grow quite close" he shot me a smile and I returned it wholeheartedly.

The comfortable silence that filled the room was soon broken by Pepper's voice. "Well, let me thank you for being there for Skye when she needed someone". Her words were so genuine that it could only fill my chest with a warm feeling.

"Oh, it was nothing Ms. Potts. We were there for each other, it was pure luck that brought us together" Bruce countered.

"Well, I do not believe in such things as luck" she said in her matter-of-fact voice. "And if I am to call you Bruce…"

"Pepper it is" he finished her sentence with a small nod and a smile plastered on his face.

This was nice, I concluded. Just being in a room with people I trusted and just talking, relaxing. Not having any training to go to the next day and basically taking a day off. I could suddenly tell why the pirate insisted so much on this and I made a mental note to thank him for that at some point.

True, I had been keeping in touch with Pepper throughout the whole year I was in training with Clint, but being close to her and talking face-to-face was not something to be compared with simple phone calls or texts. Also true, Tony still had that arrogance on him but he had tuned it down a lot since everything that happened in the Stark Expo. And I could also tell that he and Pepper were getting closer with him respecting her and her thoughts more, so that was a nice change. And finally there was Bruce, a person who I had not seen in many years and who I couldn't help but feel close to. But at the same time, when I thought of him and _the other guy_ , as this was how the doc was referring to the Hulk, I thought of how I exploited our relationship.

"You okay there?" My head snapped to Pepper as her voice brought me back to reality. Looking around I saw all three occupants of the room looking at me with concern-filled eyes. I hadn't even realised that I was so lost in my thoughts that the room had grown quiet.

"Yeah, yeah" I tried to brush it off only for Pepper to see right through my lie.

"Skye…" she said with her 'you better tell me what's wrong, or else…' tone that I knew meant business.

I smiled kindly at her and turned to look at Bruce who was sitting next to me. "I am sorry" I told him.

"What for?"

"I told Loki all about you. Everything that happened in the Helicarrer was my fault, my plan" I simply said but didn't avert my eyes as I usually did when feeling guilty about something. With Bruce it was different. It was like an unspoken agreement that we had to be honest with each other. And it would feel like a betrayal to that agreement were I not to see his end of the conversation.

It took him a good few seconds, which seemed to drag out from my point of view, but he eventually answered. "It's okay" and I could tell he meant it, the unspoken agreement still holding strong.

"Really?"

"Yeah" he placed a hand on my shoulder and sqeezed. "I figured that Loki wanted to make me lose control and after I found out that you were under his control, I knew that I would be in a delicate situation"

This made me furrow my brows as I took in what he said. "Natasha told me how she brought you in. If you knew, if you _expected_ , something like that to happen, why come in? Why risk it?"

"I figured it was worth it" our 'staring contest' of shorts never broken. "I hadn't heard from you in years, Skye, let alone see you. I'd been hiding in India for a fair amount of time and one night agent Romanoff comes in and tells me what was going on. I can't say that I wasn't hurt when she told me that you were with S.H.I.E.L.D.. I am even going to admit that I briefly thought you were playing me all along, that you were working with them since the beginning. But she explained that this was not the case. And the way she spoke about you let me know she was telling the truth.

"So if I was indeed the only person who could track down the Tesseract, and subsequently you, and I had not accepted the responsibility in fear of the other guy coming out then what would that make me? Whether you want to admit it or not Skye, we share a past. After what I was told, I knew that the chances were that you would use what you knew against me but all of it would be worth it if I could find you and bring you back to people who clearly cared about you. Plus, I have a feeling that you would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes and you were asked to help out, even with the risk of losing control"

With that he sat back on the sofa, linking his hands on the back of his head and leaning onto the cushions. "But from what I've gathered, you losing control would not be as easy now would it? Especially given that New York still stands still after all that happened" he playfully winked and I answered by punching him lightly on his upper arm.

"Shut it Greeny" I called him with the nickname I used to all those years ago.

His brows almost met his hairline when he heard me calling him like that and he didn't miss a bit to retaliate. "Whatever you say, Shaky"

At that Tony scoffed and when I turned to look at him with narrow eyes I saw him covering his mouth in a failing try to not laugh. "I am sorry" he said but clearly not meant it. "It's just, _Skaky_?", and with that he let his laughter echo in the room without holding back.

"Oh, I dare you Tony" I told him but he kept on without stopping. "Now that I am here I think I am going to spend a lot of time talking with my best pal _Jar_ " at that he suddenly sobered. "And who knows… maybe he will help me plan something special for you" I finished with a playful glimpse in my eye.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. would never allow it" he challenged but I could hear the dread in his voice nonetheless.

"Wouldn't he now? We both know that he likes me the best, isn't that right Jar?" I asked in the air and waited for the A.I. to reply.

When a few seconds passed and he didn't, Tony saw it as a bad sign. "Answer the question J.A.R.V.I.S." he said while looking at me straight in the eye.

The playful smile didn't leave my lips, only grew larger when the English accent came through the speakers in the room. "Both of you hold a different place in my programming. I am also programmed to help you should you ask my assistance. I am programmed by Mr. Stark, but I have also spend many hours helping Skye in building better security walls in our systems and I have to admit her help has been dire"

"See" I told Tony and then mouthed 'he likes me best'

And what did Tony do in return? Being the 5-year-old he is he grunted and simply said "We will talk about this later J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Oh, don't be so hard on him. He's being honest that's all. After all, it was _your_ programming that doesn't allow him to lie, you can't really blame him for that, can you?" I could almost see the billionaire's head growing red from how upset he was about the whole situation and Pepper saw it too, as she turned to me with a pointed look as if to demand to defuse the situation. I let out a sigh, as after all this time I still couldn't say no to her. "Hey, Tony" I spoke and from the look that he gave me he definitely wanted to say ' _Now what?_ ', but just stared daggers at me. "I've been meaning to ask. How come and you have yet to bring up the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. and powers situation?"

This had him change his features to that of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know. After what had happened in Monaco, you didn't mention my powers again and then after I disappeared from the Expo you did the same. You know I'd been talking with Pepper and I am sure she had let you know that I was in S.H.I.E.L.D.. And, well, with the history you have with the organisation I guess it surprised me that you never asked, or even mentioned it for that matter"

"I never did, did I?", he questioned and rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, after Monaco you were really hurt in case you've forgotten. And, despite how much I hate to admit it, you might have had just saved my life. And when I did question you in the hospital, you got upset and then I had Pepper here taking your side. Oh, I had planned to ask you, believe me I did. Only before I got the chance the mansion in Malibu was destroyed…" at that Pepper hit him in the shoulder and then proceeded at glaring at him. "Fine, fine. Then _I_ sorta destroyed the mansion and you left again with this lady here" he pointed next to him as said lady rolled her eyes.

"But that wouldn't have stopped you" I stated. I knew him and his attitude, especially at that time. And if he wanted to ask something, not even a threat about the end of the world would have stopped him from asking it.

"Nah, it wouldn't. What did was One-Eye. He came in, told me that Natalie or Natasha worked at S.H.I.E.L.D. and practically threatened to end me where I to even talk to anyone, and that included you, about your powers" he simply explained.

That was a detail that no-one had told me about. In my mental note to thank Fury for the time off, I also added thanking him for talking with Tony and keeping my secret. It appeared that this guy was doing way too much and he got credit for only a small portion of his actions. "Fair enough. I just never had you for someone who wouldn't ask when someone told you not to" I honestly said.

"Me neither!", he exclaimed. "And if anyone else had told me so, first thing in the morning and I would have you tell me everything, but this guy is scary"

"That's true" I said and couldn't resist the yawn that escaped my lips. I hadn't noticed how late it was until that moment. The sun had properly set on the horizon and the room was lit by the roof lights that were powered by Stark Industries newest clean energy source, which Loki had taken advantage of the power to open the portal.

"How about we call it a night?" Pepper was quick to add when she noticed my tiredness.

Everyone instantly agreed with her and we all got up to head to our rooms. Jar was directing Bruce to the room he would stay while in the Stark Tower and I was about to ask for directions myself, when Pepper linked her arm to mine and rushed me away.

"I was guessing you would go to bed with Tony?" I questioned while we roamed through the corridors.

"Oh, he knows the way. Our bedroom was not destroyed after all" she brushed off my question. We continued walking in silence until we reached the floor that I was staying in and was surprised to find that it was the same one that I was living in while I was working in the building. "I made sure your room remained intact" she explained as I crossed the doorframe and took everything in.

She didn't even exaggerate when she said so. The whole floor had remained exactly the same as I remembered. Only cleaner, if I were to be honest. Even the closet that had fallen during my quake episode during one of the first nights in had been replaced with a new one and was placed at exactly the same spot that the broken one used to be. "Thank you" was the only words that would suffice to what I was feeling. Then I turned back at Pepper who was standing at the entrance and walked up to her, giving her a hug. She carefully placed her hands around me, not squishing as much as she would like to, and I knew that she was afraid of hurting me again just as she accidentally had when she first saw me the same afternoon. "It's nice to be back" I offered.

"We are glad to have you back" she pulled away and brushed some hair out of my face, carefully placing them behind my ear. "I've missed you" her tone had dropped significantly, as she spoke so quietly that I had to strain my ears to actually pick up what she was saying.

"I've missed you too. You know that I'll have to go back at some point, but for now I am here" I tried to comfort her.

"I know. And you will be staying here until you are asked to go back, which I hope won't be for quite a while. From what I've heard you deserve a break. And we _definitely_ have a lot to talk about, too much have happened since I last spoke with you" she said with her motherly tone leaving an underlying question that was always there every time we spoke on the phone.

I grip her hand firmer in mine, making sure that she believed me when I said, "I am fine".

She sqeezed back and looked me in the eye. "You are not" she enquired. "But that's okay, you will be. I am here if you need anything, no matter the time. You promise that you will let me know if you need me? Whatever that would be, from talking to just sitting and enjoying a cup of tea in silence?"

"Sure" I kindly smiled and fought back another yawn, not so successfully.

"Sleep well Skye, see you tomorrow" she leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead before retreating and leaving me alone to my floor.

* * *

 _~ About 1.5 year later ~_

That day had started like every day before that, and I started my routine like usual. That was until something changed. I was about to go out for my morning run, having finished my early Tai Chi routine when I heard my phone ringing.

Only when I turned around, my phone was not ringing but had its screen black, as it was turned off. I walked towards the sound that echoed through my room and walked in the room-closet. The sound led me to the safe, which I unlocked and took the buzzing device in my palm, looking at the unknown number that was calling me.

"Agent Skye" I answered as I brought the phone to my ear.

"Morning agent" a voice that I had to hear for quite some time came from the device. "I need you to come in"

I balanced the phone on my shoulder and looked further into the safe and took out a black case with a 'Q' engraved on top. I walked back into my room and opened the case, only to reveal the latest model of gauntlets that we had been working on with Tony for at least a year after the New York Battle.

"What is my mission, sir?" I asked as I walked back into the room-closet and took out the bag that I had always prepared in case of an emergency.

"I need you to go undercover to an organisation that has made its purpose to uncover S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets and make them public. I would ask for someone else, but I trust _you._ Plus, this mission will require your skills"

My eyebrows furrowed questionably at that. "My skills? Is this threat so great that I will need to quake my way out of there, pirate?"

I could swear that I heard him laugh from the other end of the line. "No" he replied. "No. I don't mean those skills. You are going undercover as a normal, non-powered individual who hates secrets and believes that the government and organisations cover everything up. You are going back to your roots…" he trailed off as if to create suspense. "You are going in as a hacker"

"Huh" I scoffed and laughed at the same time. "I like that. I will set up my computer so that you can send me the instructions on a secure line and I'll get back to you" I felt that this conversation was coming to an end so I added quickly. "Nick, one last question" I could tell he didn't particularly appreciate me calling him Nick, but it was safer than using the surname of the director of an organisation such as S.H.I.E.L.D., plus I got to have my fun with it. "Who am I infiltrating?"

"The Rising Tide"


	58. Book 2: Pilot

**AN.1: Hey everyone! I am not fully back yet, but it's been a while and I figured I owed you an explanation, which you will get at the end of this chapter, as I won't be uploading for a while longer. Also, many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ , as always, for beta-ing this chapter. Finally I want to really thank _Taryth._ I really appreciate you sending me ideas and it did help when I started writing again, so I hope you like what I've done. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Jane! How are you this fine morning?" Miles' voice echoed through the speaker of my phone.

"Oh you know, working as always". Despite my voice sounding as if I was smiling, I wear a frown on my face as I explained my day. "Remember the info that you send me about a Chitauri Neural Link in Paris?", I rhetorically asked. "Well, let's just say that if S.H.I.E.L.D. tries to get their hands on it they are gonna bump into some competition" I actually giggled at that, trying to sound as genuine as possible.

The laughter that I heard from the other end of the line let me know that the guy was very pleased with my work. "Now that's what I am talking about Jane. I knew I could trust you to make the information go public. And talking about trust, did you hear about the guy who jumped out of a building today?"

I had to admit that this got my attention. "No? Why did I not know about this?"

"Only because it just happened and reporters aren't that fast into delivering the news" I could tell that whatever he would say next he was very proud of, as he made one of his signature dramatic pauses to build up tension. "But I have footage with this 'Hooded Hero' and I want someone I trust to make it go viral as soon as possible. What do you say?"

"Send it over our secure line" I replied without even thinking about it. If this was what I was thinking it was about, then I didn't want anyone else to get their hands on that video before me.

"Perfect!", he exclaimed. "I knew this was going to make your day, and speaking of which… what do you say to meeting up at some point? Haven't seen you in a while J, I miss you"

I thanked God that this was just a voice call and not a video one because I couldn't help myself from rolling my eyes before masking my tone to that of a woman who was head over heels for that man. "You have no idea how much I've missed you too babe, but you know it's safer for us to stay separated for long time periods. People know who we are and I have no doubt that S.H.I.E.L.D. or any other government agency is looking for us. I promise you that when we meet, it is going to be memorable" I mastered my inner seductress Natasha and have one of my best performances, and from the long pause that followed I knew I had nailed it.

"I think you have a package in your mail, consider it an early gift. See you soon" and with that the call was terminated.

I swore when Fury made me take this undercover operation I knew that I had to get deep into the hacktivist's organisation and gain some trust. What better way to gain trust other than making out with one of the higher ranked people after all. But it still didn't mean that I liked what I was doing for the sake of S.H.I.E.L.D.

But I was the only line that filtered what many of the Rising Tide video's included as they soon realised I was one of the best hackers they had ever seen and most of their information ended up going through me before being released to the public. That allowed me to sneak some extra coding lines in the video, letting the agency know what was going to be released a few minutes earlier than it was released to the public. This allowed them the chance to try and fight back my programs and shut some of the videos or information before they even saw the light of day. Only some intel that I knew wouldn't really hurt S.H.I.E.L.D. were truly released to the public, I had to maintain my cover after all.

And this was how, after six months of working from my van I finally got a video which truly intrigued me. I let my face-recognition program run as I viewed the minute long sequence with a man jumping off a building, landing without breaking a bone and then running away.

Hooded hero indeed…

And one thing was for sure. If what I just saw was true, then I had to find him. He could be scared, but from the looks of it he knew how to handle his powers. So the most important thing at the moment was that he would not be found by the wrong people.

But I knew it would take me at last a couple of hours before I managed to track him down, talk with him and head back. And if my location tracker was correct, which always was, then that video was filmed from one of the labs that I had pinpointed as Centipede's ones. I had been gathering information on them for a while and if this guy was linked to them then I couldn't wait any longer to let S.H.I.E.L.D. know of my findings for the organisation that went really far to make sure people didn't learn about them.

True, I hadn't gathered much but it was enough to kickstart a S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation. So, I uploaded the video online, making sure I left a little gift for my friends back at the agency to find. Hard enough to encrypt so that I would have the time to meet this mysterious hero, but easy enough for them to be able to actually crack.

* * *

 _Hill's POV_

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, agent Ward?"

This was how my debriefing of Ward started after he successfully managed to get the Chitauri Neural Link from France before anyone else got their hands on it. I wasn't normally the one to debrief agents after a mission, I had better things to work on. I was the second in command after all, having a Clearance Level 9 which only one other person had. But that day was different.

That day was different because Fury decided that it was time for Phil to go back into the field after the Battle of New York. It was a miracle that he had managed to tame the guy for these past two years but they still passed all too fast in my opinion.

So there I was, making Ward a Level 7 agent, with him getting the information that Phil was indeed alive. And of course this came as a shock to the man I used to train while in the Academy.

"Director Fury faked your death to motivate the Avengers" he stated as the three of us headed towards the command centre so as to inform him of his new position in Coulson's mobile team.

"Well, the death of a common ally _is_ a particularly effective team builder" I stated back. These were some basics that they all learned in the Academy and I had to restrain myself from hitting him at the back of the head from saying something so plainly obvious.

But of course Phil was quick to intervene. "Plus it wasn't that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about 40 seconds"

"Hey, it gets longer every time you tell it" I continued walking and they followed from the back. It was a practised reply really, because although he had no idea I remembered very well what had happened during that fight.

"Yeah, well you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini you can tell it your way" he said without missing a beat. Just as I did before. The only problem here was that in his case, it was not a practised reply but a genuine one. A reply that originated from memory. "I was looking at the big white light and it felt like a lot more than just 8 seconds"

"Do they know?" The younger one asked. "The Avengers? That Fury played them?"

Before I had a chance to reply, Phil took the reins of the conversation once more. "They are not Level 7" he spoke and I heard the slightest of sorrow slip into his answer before he recomposed himself. "Got out of the ICU, Fury stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti" and with that the talk about the Avengers was over.

I couldn't say that I was not glad for that.

So as soon as Ward finally left to gather his stuff and meet Coulson and the rest of the completely sketchy, in my opinion, team I left to go and take my mind off things. He talked about Tahiti, this magical place, and it pained me to see him so unaware.

"He really doesn't know, does he?" Doctor Streiten asked as if he was reading my thoughts.

"He can never know", was all I mastered to say before walking away and towards my office where I opened my computer and checked if there was any new video posted by the Rising Tide.

True, Coulson and his team was currently going to get a member which was pinpointed thanks to Skye's undercover work. Also, true, that it was the second intel she leaked us about the hacktivist group in the same day so the chances of getting anything new were low but it wouldn't hurt to check. After all, only Fury and I knew of Skye's whereabouts or her actual status in general.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

It was easier than I expected to find out the identity of the guy.

Mike Peterson. 34. Recently unemployed and father to one boy named Ace. This was all the information I need to know before I went out to track him down and meet him.

True, I did check a bit of his background and the guy seemed like a straight up dude. No criminal records or anything, just the unfortunate event that had him lose his job. And he just wanted to provide for his child. I didn't know whether or not he was actually connected to Centipede, but he did jump off one of their buildings, so I had to keep that in mind. But as I already said, he was a decent guy. I doubted he would get mixed with that kind of crowd.

And as he was recently fired from his work place, he was currently looking for employment. Which is exactly what I found him doing as I sat across from him in the cafe I tracked him down to. I parked on the back and went in, only to see him going through the job list on a newspaper.

"I know you don't know me but I want you to act natural, pretend that we are talking" I said when he looked up to me.

"We are"

"See, you already get it. The thing is that we never know who is listening" my voice was quieter than normal, but not whispering. I adopted a body language that indicated I was just chatting with a friend to help my case.

"I don't even know who's talking" he was so confused.

"I am really sorry, where are my manners? I am Jane" I gave him my undercover name, so in case anything happened and he had to look for me in the Rising Tide he wouldn't raise any suspicions. "And you are the Hooded hero".

"No–No, you got the wrong guy. I am just a factory worker" he replied and I could tell that he was growing anxious about this whole interaction.

I better go straight to the point then. "You've got the wrong approach" I stated. "I am not here to let people know it's you, make you famous. I know how hard it can be to have to hide, alright? And I know you are just trying to live a normal life, find a job, but you can't" with that he closed the newspaper he was looking at, clearly irritated.

He let out a sigh as he let his back rest to the cushion behind him. "What would you know about it, huh?"

"More than you think, okay?"

"Look, lady. I am just a guy" he tried.

"Not anymore, you are not. Not after you rescued that lady from the building. You did that, someone filmed it and the video went viral. You are a hero now. Like it or not, you don't have a choice _and_ you cannot walk away from this. With great power comes…" my mind backtracked to the battle of New York, "…a tone of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with" was the closest explanation that I could find.

I stopped talking and looked him in the eyes. All I saw was exacerbation. In the terms of, 'who is this crazy lady that just came and sat in front of me'. And soon followed what I expected as he made a move to stand up. "I think we are done here"

Without even hesitating, I reached out and placed my hand on top of him. Didn't grab him as this probably wouldn't really help into making him trust me, just touching him to get his attention. "Look, if you need anything you can find me in my van, it's right on the back. I am good with computers and know how to make people disappear. I could help you create a new identity, okay? Just think about it" I kindly smiled at him. With that, I retracted my hand, stood up, walked off and left him in the cafe as I opened the door to my mobile office.

Give him a new identity I would, was he to ask for it. That didn't mean that I wouldn't let S.H.I.E.L.D. know of his whereabouts as well, just in case anything ever happened.

I was playing around on my computers, gathering all the information that I had on the Rising Tide and Centipede and storing them in a secure location. I knew that the agents were coming. It was a good three hours by the time I uploaded the video and truth be told I expected them to be here sooner, I should really have a chat with Fury when I got back about their Communications graduates.

I looked up to the hula girl that was moving from side to side as I my vibrations picked up two sets of steps walking towards my van. It was about time to go back, wasn't it? I took a deep breath and prepared to meet the agents who would most likely put a black bag over my head, lead me back to their base of operation to 'interrogate' me. That would be the drill were I just a member of the Rising Tide.

But the plan was to show them my badge, sure they would ask questions but at least we would all save ourselves from the whole black-bag situation. The door on the side of my van opened from the outside and I turned around, ready to take out my badge when my eyes landed to the agent on the left.

My whole world stopped at the moment when I laid eyes on the man whose face still haunted some of my guilt-filled nightmares.

"Phil?" I barely managed to whisper, still in shock, before the bag was thrown over my head.

My question didn't seem to phase the man at all as the agent he was with dragged me out of my van and threw me in the vehicle they came to my location with. I snapped out of the daze I was in as the hand that was wrapped around my upper arm tightened and probably bruised the skin underneath.

Without too much of an effort I punched the guy that was holding me in the chest, releasing the tinniest vibration into his ribcage. Not enough so that he would understand that the pain that spread on his ribs was not solely from my hit, but enough so that he curled up on his seat, giving me enough time to take off the bag that covered my eyes.

"Coulson!" I loudly exclaimed as I felt the unmarked vehicle come to a harsh stop. By the time I could see straight Coulson, who was up until now driving, had turned to look back with a gun steady in his hands and trained at my chest. "What the fuck Phil?!", this time I yelled, not being able to hold my temper any longer.

His expression never changed from that of utter confusion as the situation had clearly not turned out as he had planned it to. But what scared me the most was the lack of recognition on his eyes. It was as if he was looking at a stranger. And as if all this wasn't enough to make me feel like someone had stabbed me in the heart with a knife, the words that came out of his mouth finished the job.

"Who the Hell are you?!"

* * *

 **AN.2: I am really sorry (not sorry) for the cliff hanger of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed, because I don't know exactly when I will uploading again, it will probably be a couple of months.**

 **So, here is what's happening. I have a serious problem with my writing hand. Basically it's been bothering me for more than a month now and I couldn't use it at all. Even with some physio that I did, it still hurts whenever I write (or sometimes just use it). So, because of this I am unable to type anything with both hands in the computer.** **Even this AN is more than my hand is used to** **. And given that English isn't my mother language, I find it extremely challenging trying to type with just my left hand.**

 **I have already written 4 chapters for this second part of the story, but the plan is to have at least 10 under my belt in case anything happens, to have some of them as backup. And all these 4 chapters were written more than a month ago. This is why I uploaded this chapter. For you to** **both** **get a glimpse as to what's going to happen next in the story, and to let you know of the overall situation. I felt bad leaving you hanging and not knowing when I would upload again. As soon as I can get back to properly writing at the computer, I will start writing chapters. I have so many ideas about whats going to happen in the story and I so want to write some more Skimmons scenes. So, in no way am I stopping this story but I need to focus on getting my hand healed and focus on the university. These two are my priorities at the moment.**

 **And since I mentioned Skimmons. For those who have been reading this story for quite a while, you must have noticed that I just changed the pairing status to Skye/Jemma. But since starting this second part of the story and Skimmons is one of the things I am going to go after, I found it only proper to make it clear that this is the pairing for this story. There will of course be FitzSimmons friendship, but no SkyeWard (maybe one-sided, not sure yet). I am** **really sorry if I mislead any of you to think otherwise and feel free to unfollow/unfavourite if this is not the kind of story you are after. But this story was really created around Skimmons and there is no way I am not seeing it through. I know it's not cannon, but the story is AU to begin with.**

 **Anyhow, I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you again when I will see you :)**


	59. Don't Touch Lola

**AN: Hey guys, we are back! The hand's better, and I have already written the 10 chapters I wanted before starting properly uploading for Book 2. As with Book 1, the uploads will normally happen every Saturday, but since it's the official day the _Avengers Endgame_ comes out, with _MegaDiary123_ we decided to celebrate it with a new chapter! Welcome to all the newcomers to this story, thank you for following/favouriting/reviewing, as well as a salute to the old readers. I hope you guys enjoy. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

 _"_ _Who the Hell are you?!"_

I looked deep into his eyes, and the lack of recognition remained at large. And even if he could lie to me in my face, his heart wouldn't be able to. My vibrations picked up on his heart rate. And just like with a lie detector, I knew that every word he spoke was something he truly believed in. "You were supposed to be dead" I whispered, my mind backtracking to the events of that awful day.

His expression changed as he took a deep breath and looked at me dead in the eyes. The steel determination in his gaze let me know he wasn't playing around. "How do you know that? Or me in that matter? What does the Rising Tide has on me?"

His seriousness let me know that he wasn't playing around. Trying to recompose myself, I took a deep breath and slowly raised my arms, trying to show that I meant no harm. His heart rate was still going a bit crazy after what had just happened but he was calming down. "Nothing, the Rising Tide had nothing on you". At that he narrowed his eyes as he clearly didn't think I was telling the truth. "And I know you because I was in the Helicarrier before the Battle of New York. I was there when you died" I said. It may not have been the whole truth, but it was a correct statement. "Look", I continued, "I am a high Level Clearance agent who had been undercover in the Rising Tide for the past half a year, okay? Deep undercover, no-one apart from the Deputy Director and the Director know about it"

All the talking had given enough time for the agent next to me to recover from my punch-vibration combo and he went to grab his weapon. I could easily disarm him, or both of them for that matter, but I had a couple of good reasons not to. For starters this wouldn't make them trust me more. And then, I couldn't use my powers since only the Avengers, the pirate, Maria and Jemma knew that 'Quake' and 'Skye' was one and the same. And if I went around blasting people all the time, even with my hacking abilities I wouldn't be able to keep my secret. So, as far as anyone knew I was a simple non-powered human.

With the other agent's gun trained on my skull Coulson spoke again. "Why don't I believe you? If you were such a high Level agent I would know of you. And more importantly, you would know of me being alive. So tell me, why should I believe any word you say? And if you _were_ an agent, then where is your badge?"

I highly doubted that telling him that it was dropped in my van when they grabbed me would earn trust points. So I searched my memory and came up with only one idea that could potentially earn me some of those valuable points. " _Sierra-Kilo-Juliet 08-Uniform-7342_ "

Coulson's eyes flickered at that. "How do you know that number?"

"In the same way that I know _Alpha 946430_ " I said with confidence. "Wanna give her a call? Tell her that you have her old rookie, she will know what I mean"

"Make sure she stays put, agent Ward" Coulson said as he lowered his gun and took out his phone, before pressing it to his ear, calling my almost S.O.

"Why, Ward" I said turning to the agent who was deadly serious. "It couldn't possibly be agent _Grant_ Ward, now could it?" I smirked when he tightened his hold on his gun. "I would put that down if I were you" I pointed at the gun. "I actually bet you 10 bucks that you will be told to do so in the next seconds" I teased.

"Bet's on" his reply only made my smile grow larger on my face.

I lifted my hand, open palm and started counting down from 5. The moment I closed my last finger Coulson's voice came from the front part of the car, "Lower your gun, agent Ward". He passed me the phone, a look of confusion in his face and then opened the door for me to exit. The moment I was outside the door behind me closed, giving me some privacy for the phone call.

"Skye…"

The moment I heard her voice it was like this was the last straw to keeping my emotions in check. "What in the world Maria?" I hissed. I didn't dare to scream because I didn't want the two men listening in our conversation. "How the fuck is Phil alive? Or maybe you want to tell me how I am a total stranger to him? Huh?"

"Skye, I need you to calm down okay?" She said with a voice that let me know I didn't really have much of a choice in the matter and she was only asking out of kindness. I took a few deep breaths, calming my nerves before she spoke again. "Good. Now, I need you to listen very carefully. I can't say much on the phone and I need you to not question me now. What I want you to do is lay low and be _normal_. They don't know, not even him"

"Fine" I said back. "I will help them out, I was the one who made them come to me in the first place. But don't think for a _second_ that this is over. Not with you and not with the pirate. We will have a nice long chat as soon as possible" it was not even a question, no. This was a demand.

"We will" she verified and her tone let me know she was genuine in her answer.

"You bet we will. Want me to give you Coulson?"

"Yes" she answered. Just before I lowered the phone from my ear, I heard her call my name. "And Skye? I truly am sorry"

With that I opened the door and passed the device to its rightful owner. I saw Ward shooting me daggers as I extended my hand. He grunted, the frown on his face becoming worse as he placed the money on my palm just as "Roger that" echoed from the front.

"So, I am guessing we were heading to your base?" I questioned. "Lead the way" I smiled at Coulson and sat comfortably in my seat.

* * *

The moment we parked the car I was out and walking to my van which was brought by some other agents at the same location. I walked in and grabbed my USB sticks that were filled with the information needed as well as my badge. Then I followed the others to a ramp that led to the inside of the 'Bus', as the agents were referring to the airplane. I couldn't help but notice the cherry-red 1962 Chevrolet Corvette that Coulson loved so much.

He was leading us to what could only be a briefing room for me to give him any information he might needed. So, he had gone off ahead and was at the top of the spiral staircase when he noticed that I wasn't following and that my gaze was trained to the beautiful vehicle.

I was so certain of what was to follow that I beat him to it. "Don't touch Lola" I said with a smile on my lips as I restarted my walk and reached him. "I know"

I all but heard his jaw snap close at that and he narrowed his eyes at me. I had a feeling that I wasn't his favourite person in the world at the moment. "This way" he said with an authoritative tone as he passed me and led me to a room filled with computer, and other, systems and a table in the middle.

"How about we take it from the start" and with that he gave me permission to update them on everything that I knew.

I took my badge out and showed it to the two people in the room. "I am agent Skye. As I said before I was undercover in the Rising Tide. The Director was the one who gave me the mission and I was instructed not to have any contact with anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. so as not to tip them off" I simply recalled.

"If you are so good that the Director put you in that position, then why were we able to track you down?" Ward spoke.

"Because I wanted you to, T1000. You know better than agent Coulson here how good I am with computers, given our shared time in the Academy" with that I saw recognition finally shine through Wards eyes.

"Wait one second. _Skye_? As in–"

"Yes, Ward" I cut him off. "Skye as in 'rookie', 'kid' and all the other beautiful nicknames that you had come up with in the beginning of my stay".

"You know her?" Coulson asked.

Wards eyes snapped to the senior agent and then back at my face as he replied. "Yeah, she came in the Academy in the year that I graduated. I haven't really seen her since"

I so enjoyed seeing Ward at a loss for words but we did have more important things to worry about. "Now that that is over, and as I said before, I _wanted_ you to track me down. I didn't know which team would pick me up, but I know that agent Hill was monitoring the videos that I was uploading for the Rising Tide. I left the same cryptographic signature in the video with the Hooded hero with ones that I uploaded while undercover knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. would pick it up"

After my explanation had finished the room filled with silence as what I had just said was being processed by the two. "Hill did verify what you said when we spoke in the phone, so I don't see why you would lie about anything. What's the reason you blew your cover then, agent?"

I flinched a bit when he called me 'agent'. This formality between us was something new as he wasn't Phil anymore for me. But agent Coulson, former Deputy Director and highly praised agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who gave his life trying to protect the world from Loki. "Centipede"

"Centipede?"

"It's a really well-covered operation. I haven't managed to find much but everything I have on them is right here" I said and handed over one of my flash drives. Then as I gave the second one I continued, "And this one has everything I managed to get on the Rising Tide. Names, aliases, bases, everything. But what matters now is Centipede. And more importantly the man that you came to look for when you came for me. Mike Peterson"

"Wait, how do you know his name?" Ward asked.

At that I did roll my eyes and pointed at my chest. "Hacker, remember?"

Coulson who had gone over to the computer system typed the name that I gave him. "But still. Our face-recognition system couldn't identify the guy. The videos quality was awful" he let all the information he could gather appear on the screen.

"I may be S.H.I.E.L.D. but I have some programs my own. I _am_ the best hacker that S.H.I.E.L.D. has after all. I don't say it was the easiest thing in the world, but it was easy enough" my hands were folded at my chest and I looked around. "I am guessing you already have a team at the scene?"

"In fact, we do. We will wait for them to get back so as to get all the data we need and see how we proceed"

"Isn't time off the essence here? The sooner we find him the better and we already know the name" Ward chimed as he bounced from one leg to the other. The vibes he sent off clearly indicated that he wanted this mission over as soon as possible. Only I didn't know whether this was because of my presence or not.

"We should wait for the others" I said just as Coulson opened his mouth. "We don't want to rush in and it's important to know the whole situation before going in. I know you were trained as a specialist, but this is a team and agent Coulson is your leader, if I am not mistaken. Trust in him" I said and saw a smile appear on Coulson's face that was accompanied with a nod.

This was the first time he smiled at me since we met this day. The same smile that he used to give me all those years ago. We might have gone off to a rough start, but we would work it out. We always did.


	60. Meeting The Team

**AN: Hey everyone. I hope you all had a nice week. As always, many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_! **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

It's late in the afternoon when the rest of the team joins in. I had spent the last couple of hours playing around in the computer systems of the Bus, finding more information on Mike Peterson. This is how I stumbled upon the news feed with him going back to the factory and attacking the man who fired him.

This was not the same person that I had talked to the same morning. The Mike that I met was not a violent person, he just had a lot of crap being thrown his way. I let out a heavy sigh. "He just needs a break" I accidentally spilled.

"Then let's try to give him one" I turned around to see Coulson standing at the door of the room. "The others just came in. It will take them a while to process what they found but they should be ready to go in half an hour. They are downstairs in their lab, are you ready to meet them?"

I shrugged at that and followed the man who I knew, but didn't recognise me, to the back towards the cargo hold. "I talked with Ward while you were in here. And he informed me that you might be familiar with our science duo" he said and stopped on the top of the spiral staircase. He just pointed downstairs with his chin before saying, "I'll see you in the debriefing room in 40 minutes" and then just walked away.

This had me confused, I would have guessed that he would at least stick around to introduce them to me, or at least introduce me to them. Who knew what was going on in this man's head…

I found myself descending to the lower floor and standing outside of the lab, where both of the science people had their backs to me as they worked on something really focused. I pressed the switch for the door to open and was about to call out to them. But the sound of the door seemed to do the trick as one turned around and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Fitz?" I mouthed, my voice betraying me in the last minute. Jemma would, more often than not, send me pictures of the both of them working and so I didn't just have the image of him from 8 years ago to rely on for reference.

He didn't, however, seem to have any idea who I was. "Who are you?", he asked in his polish Scottish accent. And then I remembered that my presence in the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility was top secret so Jemma wouldn't have had the chance to tell him of our interactions nor send him any pictures of me.

"Come on, Fitz. I don't think I have changed that much" I kindly smiled at him.

My voice seemed to make the other person in the room stop whatever they were doing midway and sharply turn to look at me. Just as sharply I inhaled with an audible gasp escaping my lips. Next thing I know I am wrapped into a fierce hug. Just for one second though, as in the next the grip that the girl had on me disappeared as she took a step back and hit me in the bicep. "How dare you? One day everything is fine and next thing I know I haven't heard from you in _months_?", she said with an angry expression on her face.

"It was not my fault!" I hurried to reply, raising my hands in a non-threatening manner. "The pirate sent me in a mission and I couldn't contact anyone"

"You could have given me the heads-up!"

"It was a last minute thing! You think I wouldn't let you know I was going if it was up to me? It was bad enough the first time you saw me after the Academy, you think I would want to face your passive aggressiveness again?" I tried to reason. And when I saw her face relaxing I knew my plan worked. So with my hands open as they were I invited her in another hug, which I returned tenfold this time. "I missed you" I whispered in her ear.

"I missed you too" she whispered back.

The little bubble we were in was popped by Fitz clearing his throat. "Uh, Jemma? What is going on here?" He asked as we parted and turned to look at him.

Jemma made a move to speak but one smile from me had her pausing. "Would you mind introducing us?" I asked her with a wink.

I was so thankful at that moment that Jemma grasped everything so quickly because she smiled mischievously back at me. "Why, of course. This is Leopold Fitz" she said and pointed at her lab partner.

"Its is great to meet you" I said, but didn't stop there. "But seriously. _Leopold_? Do I have to call you that?" The smile never leaving my face.

"Oh please don't" he replied as if it was an automatic reply. "You can call me…" he trailed off just as his eyes shined with recognition and a smile was plastered on his face. "…Leo or Fitz. Whatever you prefer" he extended his hand for me to shake. "Is there a surname I should know of, Skye?"

"It's good to see you buddy" I brought him in for a hug and he didn't fight it, though he was a bit hesitant about it. We hadn't seen each other for a while after all.

"It's good to see you too" he said back. "What happened to you? All I ever learned was that one day the whole Academy was in lockdown and everyone was looking for you" he said looking back and forth between me and Jemma.

I knew that Jemma was either looking at me or had suddenly found the floor all too interesting, so I decided to grab the reigns of the conversation to ease her nerves. "A lot, that's what has happened. But more importantly", I clapped my hands, "I heard you got some interesting information for us. Phi– Agent Coulson said to meet in the debriefing room in about 30 minutes" I walked towards the computers at the far end of the lab and the science twins followed suit. "You will be ready by then, right? I would hate to think that you've lost your touch" I clearly directed that at Fitz.

He all but pushed me aside to keep working on his current project. "Of course not. It will be ready" he said as he restarted his work.

I turned around to see Jemma looking at me. "Don't you have anything to work on?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at the moment, no. At least until Fitz here finishes his part there is nothing I can do" she replied and I knew she was telling the truth. If it came to work, Jemma would never lie about it.

At that moment a thought crossed my mind and it must have shown in my face because the next thing I know is Jemma asking me if everything was alright. "Yeah, I was just thinking. I know I just met agent Coulson…" I had to lie at that point since neither of them knew about my history with the man "…but he doesn't seem like the guy who would let you go in the field alone. And, don't get me wrong, but I doubt you're clear for combat. So, who was the agent that came with you? I saw Ward when they came to pick me up but I am guessing there is another one?"

"Oh, you've seen Ward again. That's good. At least he won't be too shocked when we head upstairs" she provided just as Fitz made a signal for her to step closer. He said something that didn't sound like English to me, but Jemma seemed to understand the whole of it. "I need to work on this at the moment, but I am sure you can meet her. The other agent I mean. She is the pilot, so my guesses are that she is at the cockpit" and with a nod she turned to Fitz and began her work.

With that I headed upstairs. Passing the common room I saw the team captain going through the files that I managed to get with my research. I knocked on the door to get his attention and he smiled at me. "You know we have a handful of time before meeting here, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I do. It's just that FitzSimmons are working at the moment and I don't want to interrupt" I smiled back. "I heard that there is another member in the team that I have yet to meet and that she is at the cockpit? Is it okay if I head there or do you want to introduce us in the meeting?" I felt like asking for permission would get me on his good side and it would show that I respected him. I did, I truly did, but finding out he was alive after I killed him was kind of a shocker and my initial behaviour towards him mustn't have shown as much.

He seemed to be thinking of my proposal but eventually just pointed me in the right direction. "Go down this corridor, it's the door at the far end". I made a move to go, but he called me. "Skye?", this had me stop short. "Just, don't take it personally if she doesn't warm up to you. Or talk" and with that he continued looking through the files.

I wondered what that was about, but I guessed that I was about to find out.

Finding the room wasn't too hard. The Bus did have a lot of rooms, more than a normal airplane would host, but it was still not that large. And after having read the manuals for every S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle and aircraft, kind sponsorship of the one and only Clint Barton, navigating myself was easy.

The door to the cockpit was not fully closed, only about three quarters of the way there, but it was still not open enough for me to peek inside without having to open the door any further. So, trying to be polite and not scare the agent off, I gently knocked on the frame and gently pushed my way in.

"Agent Coulson said I could find you here" I said but the woman who was sitting at the pilot's seat just continued checking the plane's mechanisms as if she hadn't heard me. Had I not have my vibration to detect the small change in her heart rate, then I would have believed that this was the case indeed. "I don't know if he filled you up on what happened when you were in the field, but it seems that I am a new addition to the team, at least for this mission" I tried but was still not acknowledged by her. Seeing that this was a pattern that was not going to change I concluded it was time to end this very fascinating one-sided conversation short. "I am really sorry to have bothered you, this was not my intention. I will see you in a few minutes in the debriefing room". I started making my exit but stopped at the door and before closing it I made a last minute decision. "You should know my name at least, for when we are debriefed. I am Skye" I whispered to the woman before starting making my way to where I had just left Coulson.

My vibrations picked up her movement of looking at the door where I had just passed through but I didn't make my way back. I would meet her face to face sooner than later either way.


	61. Somebody That I Used To Know

**AN: Hey guys. As always, many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ for Beta-ing this and all chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you all for the support for this story. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

After not really talking to the pilot I went back downstairs to the lab. I sat quietly and watched as the science twins worked. They would murmur words here and there but other than that it was as if they spoke telepathically. Before I knew it was time to meet the others, so after checking my clock once more I called them over and together we headed to the upper floor.

My file, with all the information on Mike was on the holo-table. The moment the three of us stepped inside Coulson started bringing everyone up to speed. "Michael Peterson, factory worker, married, one kid. Gets injured, gets laid off. Wife jumps ship. Good guy, bad breaks" he stopped walking around the table and folded his arms over his chest. "Best guess is somebody tells him they can make him stronger again, make him super"

"Who has the tech to do that?" A voice that I heard for the first time since I boarded this plane was heard. "And why would they want to?"

My head snapped up as my eyes trained on the woman who must have been then one who was in the cockpit. The voice, in combination with the face, let me know who she was without her having to introduce herself. _May_ …

My mind went blank for a minute before Fitz started speaking and I focused on the screen where a CCTV feed was shown. "Well the man is angry at the other man"

I rolled my eyes at that. Seriously Fitz? You spent a good solid half an hour to come up with that? And the silence that filled the room let me know that everyone was thinking the same as me. So, of course and Jemma had to jump in to rescue him from complete humiliation. "The data is very corrupt"

"Yeah" Fitz scoffed. "Like Cold War Russia corrupt. I can't sync the time code without–"

Well that was something I could work with. "What if you had the audio?" I interrupted him and every person in the room turned to look at me. "I have been running surveillance in the lab for a while now, so I had a mic pointed at the window and placed nearby. It was destroyed when the blast occurred but I have the digital files in my van. There is too much background noise for me, but you could probably–"

"You can clean that up, can't you?" Simmons jumped in turning towards her partner. "Find a sync point and use cross-invalidation" and that was how they started speaking in their own language and getting lost in an argument that didn't sound like English to anyone but the two of them.

I knew that the two of them could get lost in their heads so I called them out. "FitzSimmons" I looked at them intently and they seemed to snap back to reality.

"That audio would be great thank you very, very much" Fitz said at the same time Jemma replied with "We will take that audio please", followed by a kind smile.

"Your van's here, as you know, wanna head down and work on it?" Coulson asked.

"I won't be able to encrypt the files from here. The encryption's coupled to the GPS. Get my van back to that alley and then I'm in business" I started heading outside.

"If you knew you were being picked up by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team why link it to the GPS?" Ward had to ask.

I turned around to look at him. "Because, Ward. For whatever reason, and despite my confidence in my skills, someone could have intercepted my video and track me down before you did. It was a failsafe in case something went wrong"

Coulson cut in, trying to end this argument. "Agent May will escort you"

One look at the back and I could tell that May wasn't too keen in spending alone time with me. I knew it had been some time since the last time that I saw her, but she seemed so different so… cold, comparing to my memory of her. And despite me wanting to talk with her, the situation didn't thrill her and I didn't want to bother. "It's okay, I can go on my own"

"It was not a question. Unless it's extremely important I never send one agent alone and this doesn't classify in the category. You and agent May will head to the alley, do your part and then head back here. Understood?" His tone wasn't harsh, he just didn't leave any room for disagreement.

"Yes, sir" I smiled kindly and looked back at May, waiting for her to lead the way to the cargo hold.

* * *

 _May's POV_

"Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Skye asked while driving towards the alley. Ever since we started making our way to our destination no-one has said a thing and the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

Just as I had done for the past twenty minutes, I just stared out of the front window. I would love to have something to do with my hands right now, but seeing as Skye was driving I was just sitting in the shotgun seat doing nothing to help me pass the time. "I'm driving on the way back" I broke the new wave of silence that enfolded us

"Nope" She replied taking a sharp turn left while popping the 'p'.

I stared at her, and I knew she knew I was staring at her as my expression said it all. _"Wanna try that again?"_ , it was as if I was asking.

"My van, my rules. Plus, I am fairly confident my Clearance Level surpasses yours at the moment, so you really don't have any saying in the matter" we reached the alley and she pulled the handbrake, coming to a full stop.

I immediately stood and went to exit the vehicle from the side door. The reason I would go with her if asked was that this was protocol and since Skye would be working from in here I had to be the one keeping a look out and making sure the area was secure. But I think that Skye knew as well that I just needed my space. I was too overcrowded for one day, first having to drive the two scientists to the field and now this. I knew she wanted to ask and just before I managed to exit her voice stopped me.

"Melinda" she called just as my hand reached the door handle and I stopped my movement. I could tell that she was tired with the whole situation just by the sound of her voice. "Look, I don't mean to push, okay? I haven't seen you in years and today hasn't been the best day for me. I found out that Phil was alive, but he doesn't remember me. I have been beating myself up for the last couple of years hoping that I could have somehow saved him and then I have this blow up in my face. And then, I see you but you are not the same person you were. True, it's been many years since then. Hell, I am not the same person I was back in the day. I just wanted to say that I am sorry. Sorry if for whatever reason I did anything to hurt you, I am sure I didn't mean it. And I will leave you alone from now on. But just so you know, if you need anything all you have to do is find me"

I stood there for a few seconds before grabbing the door handle. "Let's get this over with and head back" I said as I exited and left her to work on her computers. She let out a sigh but didn't ask any more questions.

As I was surveying the area I stole glances of Skye typing codings on her computer and talking at Fitz on the phone at the same time. She had been right. We were different since the last time we met. I knew what had happened to me, a lot of people thought they did but only a trusted few knew the actual story of what occurred in 2008.

The main question in my mind was what had happened to Skye?

I didn't know that she was back in S.H.I.E.L.D. and that had me wondering whether the others knew. They hadn't mentioned anything the last time we spoke. And what was that, that she said, about Phil not remembering her? What was it that occurred those years we were apart that transformed her into the mature person I had in front of me? No more was she the young, reserved girl that I knew, and nowhere in sight was her bubbly side that she had reserved for when she spoke with Natasha, Clint, Phil or myself. And then, she said that she has a higher Clearance Level than me?

From the moment I laid my eyes on her I could tell that she was tired. But it was not the type of exhaustion that happened because she didn't sleep well at night. No, this tiredness I knew all too well. It was the type that was built inside over time.

"That should do it" she said as she closed her laptop screen.

I nodded at her and decided to at least speak to her. I knew it mustn't have been easy for her to keep quiet for so long. "Let's head back" I said as I stepped closer to the van.

I was just about to climb in when someone fell from the sky and pushed me to the side of the van. I barely managed to turn around and see who it was before he grabbed onto my jacket and, with more strength than he should have, threw me to the wall making me fall to the ground and black out.

When I came to, my head was pounding. I jolted up only to see that the van was nowhere in sight. Cursing I supported myself on the wall I had bounced off before and called Coulson.

"May" he said

"He took Skye" I told him, not even bothering placing the word 'agent' before her name.

He paused on the other end of the line before he continued. "You're all right?"

"We'll deal with that later, _at length_ " I grunted. "Right now we need to figure out where they went and when we do, I need someone to come and pick me up" I said before ending the call.

This didn't make any sense. I knew what Skye could do. Or at least what she used to be able to do, but I highly doubted that she was any less trained than the last time that I saw her, she did become an agent after all. So I was certain that Skye would be okay, and I believed that she could have taken the guy out. Hell, I could have easily done that myself had he not surprised me by almost jumping on my shoulders. So why would she let him take her?


	62. Union Station

**AN: Hello people. Many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ for being the awesome Beta they are. Finally, we are wrapping up the 1st episode, hope you guys enjoy!**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

One moment May was about to climb in the car to drive us back to the Bus and in the next Mike had jumped on her and thrown her on the wall. Her body fell on the ground with a loud _thumb_ and he was staring down at her, so I had to get his attention. "Mike, what are you doing?"

He turned to look at me, a very unsettling look in his eyes. "I need your help and no-one else can know about this. You need to help save us" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I was getting ready to restrain him and bring him in when he finished talking, but something he said grabbed my attention. "Us?"

With that he reached out and brought a child closer to him. The boy, who I recognised as his son from the pictures I had seen, grunted from his father's forceful grip. _Well, shit…_ I thought as the man helped the child in the van. I was not going to take a father down in front of his child, he didn't need to see that. He didn't need to remember his father that way. "Don't cry, okay? Stay strong for me Ace. What are we?" He asked his son as he climbed in himself.

"We're a team" the boy replied without hesitation.

His answer brought a smile to the father's face, who then slammed the side door of the van closed. "That's right" and then he turned to me and commanded, "Now drive".

And drive I did, until I reached the destination that he had asked me to, Union Station. The sun was just rising by the time we arrived at the train station. Since he and his son wouldn't have been able to board in an airplane, I guessed they didn't have their passports with them, the train was the best solution to travel.

As soon as I parked the van I grabbed my laptop and started working. First things first , I needed to let Coulson and the others know my location. I was really hoping that May was fine, and if she was half the bad-ass I remember her being, she would have already been up and about, informing the team leader of what was going on. Bypassing security and hacking into the secure channel from the Bus wasn't all that hard, given that I was the one who had updated a major part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cyber security. Also, I couldn't just text them where we were, even Mike was smart enough to recognise that, so longitude and latitude would have to suffice.

"Why is this taking so long?" Mike came up front and looked at my computer just as I opened a file with his name.

I had to buy as much time as possible for the others to get there, so even if I could easily erase all of his files a lot faster I was dragging the whole process as much as I dared to. My eyes travelled to the USB stick that I had connected and where all the files where being transferred to. "Look, I can't go any faster, okay? Trust me, it's not like I am deleting a Facebook page. I'm bypassing the license bureau's AES protective data stream and so on and so on. Chill, I will let you know as soon as I am done"

"How do I know you can really do this?" He asked, looking between me and the screen where his files were being deleted, one after the other.

I side looked at him, before resuming typing. "I've done it before…" my mind traveled to all the times I had to start over before I got back into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar after leaving the agency, "…more times than I would like to count", I whispered the last part as Mike returned to his son in the back of the van.

Having extended my vibration mind map to the surrounding area I knew two things for certain. One, was that the whole station was crowded with people who didn't know what was about to go down. And the second one was that the vehicles which were parked only a few feet away and people who were closing in were not just civilians, but agents. And so I braced myself for what was going to happen.

"Mr. Peterson, good morning" Coulson's voice came through a speaker. "We are not a threat. We are here to help" at that Mike started looking around trying to find an exit. "But you are in danger and we need to take you in"

"What did you do?!" He yelled at me, as his face flared red at some point.

 _What in the world is going on…_ I thought. I knew that Centipede was trying to make super soldiers, but it looks like whatever they gave Mike wasn't stable.

He glared at me, then at the door and he grabbed my upper arm while he punched the van's door with the other, sending it flying over the agents who barely managed to dock out of the way. Ace was lifted off the vehicle and on the street as his father took him by the hand and lead the way towards the station.

The place was so crowded we bumped into a lot of people when we walked in. I had to wait for Coulson to come. My eyes scanned the area and I spotted a group of Mexicans who seemed just like the kind of people I was looking for. With no hesitation in the least, I pushed towards them and kicked one hard in the balls. "You're right" I yelled at the top of my lugs. "He is a little bitch!"

The others of the group didn't hesitate to attack Mike who let go of his son and myself as he took on the other four people.

"Ace, Ace, come here" I said to the boy and led him towards the exit, where I was hoping for Coulson to appear and he didn't fail to deliver. Ward passed us without sparing a glance as he run towards Mike who was looking around for his boy, after having finished with his brawl. "Take him and tell the cops not to shoot" I said to Phil and I turned around, heading to the stairs, hoping to get to a higher ground.

"Agent!" Coulson yelled back at me but I didn't stop, only slowed down a bit and it was enough for him to continue. "He is not stable. FitzSimmons are working on a solution but we need as much time as we can get".

At that I nodded and headed to the door which led to the stairs only to find it locked. "You have to be fucking kidding me!" I yelled to no-one in particular as the exit remained locked even after kicking it with all my strength. Looking to the chaos that was prevailing all around I made a split decision that no-one would pay any attention to me and I lift my hand, ready to shake the lock apart only for Mike to drop off the sky and land right next to me.

"Where is my son, Jane?" He asked, not so politely, and before I even had the chance of thinking of an answer a gunshot was heard and the bullet missed Mike's head by a thread. The hooded hero in turn kicked the door open and pushed me through as we climbed on the stairs, but I did manage to see the face of the person who shot us even if that was really briefly.

By the time we reached the upper floor I was sure that there was a really nasty bruise on my bicep, with the form of Mike's hand. "Mike, just stop! You gotta stop!" I told him. "These people are trying to help you, _I_ am trying to help you"

He looked at me as if I had grown a second head. "You work with the government?" The disbelief was clear in his voice. Then this disbelief turned into anger as he closed in on me. "Where did you take my son?"

"Listen to me" I told him, having raised my hands so that he saw I was not a threat. I was slowly walking backwards, towards the edge of the floor so that if Ward or Coulson were down we would be more easily spotted. "Agent Coulson has your son, okay? He is one of the good guys and I am sure that he has made sure Ace is fine" He walked with me close to the rearing.

I got a glimpse of an officer walking carefully towards us. The moment my eyes landed on his face I knew it was the same guy who tried to shot at Mike before, and I would bet my life that he wasn't a real policeman. He lifted his gun and aimed it at us and I made a really quick decision, hoping to be the right one. Mike had stuff in his system, stuff that were an experiment trying to make him a super soldier. And if my brief encounter with Captain at the Battle of New York was any indication, then what I was about to do wasn't going to kill the guy, because I really didn't want him to die.

The moment the bullet left the man's gun, I had pushed Mike out of the way, using a little bit of my vibrations for an extra push, and he was falling. The second thing that I had done was protect my upper body and head with a vibration shield. It was just like the one that I had used in the Battle of New York to protect Natasha and Clint at the beginning of the battle, only this one was a lot closer to my body, thinner and barely seen with the naked eye, unless you knew what you were looking for. And, boy was I glad that I used my powers at that moment.

My body jerked and I fell to the ground, as pain flared in my right shoulder area where the bullet was deflected. I was momentarily stunned from what happened that I didn't get right back up, or tried to find cover.

Thankfully I didn't need to.

Because as soon as I lifted my head to see what's happening and as the guy was refilling his gun with a sickening smile of his face, May came out from behind him and kicked him in the back of his knee, making his fall to the ground and then with a round hound kick at the base of his neck, he was knocked out. Just like that. Just as I had guessed, she was no less of a bad-ass than from what I remembered.

My left hand was gripping my injured shoulder and by the time I made a move to stand May was by my side and helping me up. "Let me see" she said but I brushed her off.

"We need to go down there" I replied and made a move to pass her but she was having none of it.

She pushed me back, right on the shoulder as I hissed in pain, not having expected her to do that. "We are not going anywhere until I take a look at that shoulder" her voice left no room for disagreement. "Coulson and Ward have the situation under control, now stop being brave and let me see" she waited with her arms folded at her chest.

"There is nothing to see" I said as I lifted my hand to reveal an extremely bruised shoulder. I couldn't risk making the shield thicker so that the enemy wouldn't see it so I was left with this collection of blue and black lines extending from my shoulder to my collarbone. But I was not complaining in the least, this pain was so much better than being potentially shot in the shoulder. A gunshot there can be from fatal to crippling and in need of immediate medical attention.

May, who had the same non-expressive mask since the moment I saw her, examined the wound, her hands pressing slightly at the bruises as she watched me carefully to assess the situation. But now that I knew what she was doing it was easier to conceal my pain, I was partially trained by Natasha Romanoff after all. "You are not wearing a bulletproof jacket" was all she said, as she lifted an eyebrow.

"I was lucky. Something must have intercepted the bullet's course and slowed it down"

It didn't sound convincing even to my own ears, and she stared me hard. I stared back at her just as hard. Years ago I would be very intimidated by that look in her face, but things have changed and I could hold my ground against her. Based on Maria the team was completely unaware of my powers. Well, this was not completely true, given that Jemma was there, but this did apply to the others. Maria promised to explain everything, and until that time comes I will be as normal as I could possibly be.

My thoughts were interrupted as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the station and I sharply turned to see Mike on the ground and Jemma rushing to him. I lifted my head and spotted Ward and Fitz on the other side of this upper floor and my best guess was that they must have solved the problem of the stability of the super soldier serum. Or at least find a temporary solution to it.

I looked back at May. "Should we join the others?"

Without as much as a look she turned around and all I could do was follow her as she headed to where Phil and Jemma were. By the time we reached them, the other two members of the team had joined them.

"Skye, what happened?" Jemma rushed to my side as soon as she saw that I was holding my shoulder. She pried my hand away and looked me in shock. "How did you manage to get bruised like that?"

Then I looked at her. Pointedly.

Despite her not being my doctor for the last couple of years, I was really hoping that she would understand what I was trying to tell her. When she seemed unable to decipher my look, my eyes briefly travelled to the other members of the team and then back at her, shaking my head oh so slightly.

"She said that when the guy shot her something changed the trajectory of the bullet and slowed it down, only leaving a bruise" May interrupted when I didn't reply and I could feel four sets of questioning eyes turning my way.

"That's some luck" was Ward's input to the conversation as he half-close his eyes in suspicion.

"It really is, Ward" I said with a fake smile on my face.

"I really can't believe that Skye. The chances of something like–" Jemma's rambling was interrupted with me sending a small vibrational wave her way to try and make her understand. She finally, _finally_ , seemed to grasp what I was trying to tell her before and she gaped. "Yeah, the chances are really low. I am really happy though that this was the case, otherwise you would have been in big trouble". She turned to Coulson after that. "Sir, if it's okay with you I would like to make sure that Skye's shoulder is fine, would it be okay is I further examined her in the Bus?"

"Of course" he replied though he was still looking at me with suspicion. "Agent Skye was working with us on this case so we need to debrief her as well. I will drive the two of you while Ward, May and Fitz will take the other car".

Something told me that the small trust that I had earned from Phil a few hours ago had just gone out of the window and we were back at square one.


	63. Confrontation

**AN: Good morning people! First of, many many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ for being an amazing person and Beta. Also, a thank you to all of you who continue to support this story. Next week, I will upload on Sunday instead of Saturday as it is a special occasion for this story. See you lots next week :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

On the ride in the marked vehicle, Coulson brought out his recording device and ordered me to tell him everything that happened from when we left the Bus with May to take my van to the alley for the files to unlock. Following the procedure in such cases, which was to debrief the agents involved as soon as possible after the mission for the loss of a minimum amount of details, I said in great detail everything that I could remember and which was relevant to the case. I left the talk that we had with May out of the equation, since he didn't need to know about this.

The rest of the ride was filled with a not-so-comfortable silence and I was really happy when we parked just outside of the ramp for the Bus' hangar.

I saw my van already parked and waiting for me. "An agent brought it back after they took Mr. Peterson in" Coulson said as if he had read my thoughts.

"Thank you" I genuinely said with a smile on my face as Jemma led the way to her laboratory.

* * *

After an earful from Jemma, about me not being careful enough, a few painkillers, a sling for my arm and the doctor's instructions to take it easy for at least a few days, we made our way to the upper level. The rest of the team were all gathered around the common area with Fitz at the sofas and the other three were in the debriefing room in a video call with the one and only woman I wanted an explanation from. Of course I couldn't hear what was being discussed in the room as all its doors were closed, thus making the room soundproof.

May's eyes, ever so observant, travelled briefly in my direction and the next thing I know I am told to join them, leaving Jemma behind.

This struck me as a bit strange, given that Jemma had helped create... whatever it was that had stabilised Mike. My best guess at the moment was that Fitz had brought everyone up to speed and Jemma's input wouldn't be a lot different from what had already been said.

"Agent Skye" Maria's voice acknowledged me when I walked in.

"Deputy Director Hill" I replied back with a small tilt of my head. "I am guessing you know what went down in the Union Station"

"That I do". I could see her eyes move briefly to my sling but her face remained the same mask as the one she wore in every meeting she had. Then she turned back to Phil, "I need to speak with you and my agent". I could hear Ward scoff at that, but he left without as much as a word, while May followed behind.

As soon as the door was once again sealed shut, it was Phil who broke the silence. "Care to explain what is going on Maria?" He asked not hiding his annoyance towards the whole situation. It was like a slap to my face.

Maria took a deep breath and looked at Coulson, with her eyes softening a bit. "As I told you when we spoke on the phone, Agent Skye, under mine and Director Fury's orders, infiltrated the Rising Tide. I am really sorry but you don't have the clearance to know any more of the details of the mission"

"Okay, then" Coulson folded his arms across his chest. "So what is going to happen now?" If Maria hadn't picked up on his annoyance before, the tone he used would have been enough to clear the field. Being the Deputy Director for so many years, he must not have been used to not knowing what was happening, maybe with some exceptions when the orders came straight from Fury. Suddenly being in a spot where he couldn't ask more questions about the situation was clearly frustrating him.

"I believe that Skye would benefit your newly founded team a lot" she said and raised an eyebrow as if daring Coulson to interrupt her. "This is, by no means, an order. The deal was, and still is, that as the team leader you are the one to call the shots and pick cases. This situation is no different. However I have worked with her for many years and if I am not mistaken she is familiar with most members of your team. She could help your team bond"

Coulson actually let a small laughter escape his lips at that. "I am not so sure about bonding with them. You remember how against this whole thing Ward was. Well... let's just say that ever since Skye came on board they have only been bumping heads" he shook his head and looked at me.

"Skye?" Maria asked, looking pointedly in my direction.

"It's true. I can't take all the credit for it thought, T-1ooo was the one who usually started it" I replied and looked back at Coulson who did acknowledge this fact. "But I can promise that no matter the situation, if it is for the benefit of the team then I am willing to work with him. I can't guarantee that we won't have our moments, but as long as he is willing to work with me, then I am willing to work with him"

Coulson seemed to analyse my face, maybe trying to find any sign that I was lying. Only problem with that was that I wasn't and he soon came to the same conclusion. "Fair enough" with that he extended his hand for me to shake. "Welcome to the team"

With a smile on my face I sealed the deal, "Thank you for having me".

This was a small victory for me. Despite him not remembering me, something that I had yet to learn the reason why, and despite him not really trusting me since the moment we met, I finally felt like we were on the right path. So, yeah. The smile that I had plastered on my face was as real as it gets.

I turned back around and saw Maria looking at the whole exchange before clearing her throat. "Now, if you will excuse us, Phil, there are some matters that I need to discuss with Skye"

With just a small nod of his head, Coulson left the room and silence engulfed us like a heavy blanket in a cold day.

"Before we start, I need you to make sure that the cameras in this room are all turned off, as well as the microphones" she said getting straight to the point.

It took me a handful of seconds more than it would have, had I had both my hands, but the job was done quickly. So when the sound on my typing died down, I didn't even lift my head to look at her. I took some deep breaths, calming myself down and waited to hear what Maria had to say because at that moment I was not sad. No. Sadness, guilt and a lot of other similar emotions had run through me for so many days, weeks, months before I picked myself up once again. And I had no doubt in my mind that once this day was over, these same feelings that I had tried to fight off would come back, just like that.

No, no, no. It was something else that was cursing through my veins with every thump of my heart. It was traveling all over my body as I gripped the edge of the table with my good hand and I tried to ground myself.

"I know this is hard for you and all I can say right now is that I am sorry–"

"The one thing" I whispered and she stopped talking. "The one thing that I asked for when I joined was that there would be no lies. Lies is what I despise the most and yet I am so accustomed to saying them every day to people that I know because it's for their own safety. Lies that I will have to keep saying every day just because I am a part of a team who has no idea what I can really do. Lies that only one person in this whole team knows about because this is what you ask of me. And telling lies is not what I have a problem with, it has become second nature by now. What I cannot stand is when I am told lies when I have done nothing to deserve them. It was just one thing that I asked when Fury decided to train me to become an agent. That I would be kept in the light for matters that I am related to. So tell me, _Maria_ , what have I done to deserve something like that?"

My tone was so quiet that someone could mistake us for having a very civil conversation, could they hear us. But we both knew that this was far from it. I hadn't even realised the silent tears that were running down my face. I didn't know when they started, but I couldn't care less about hiding them from her. The others weren't around to see them, so the only witness would be the person in the screen in front of me.

"Do the others know?" I asked and didn't have to elaborate as to whom I was referring to,

"No" came the quick answer.

"You know, one of the reasons he didn't trust I was S.H.I.E.L.D. was because I told him that I was a high Level agent but didn't know about him being alive" I recalled. "What Level was he referring to?"

There was a pause from her side and I lifted my head to face her. When she saw my face, her own softened. "Seven. You would need to be Level 7 to know that"

I actually laughed at that and I could see the concern filling Maria's features even more. "Seven, huh? So, what? New York happened and then I was given the leave of absence when no one from S.H.I.E.L.D. contacted me, and why would I look further into it? After all Phil was _dead._ Or at least this is what I believed. And then I was sent into a 'deep' cover into the Rising Tide, with no contact apart from you and the Pirate. But had I looked at it, looked at the files concerning New York, would I have found the truth or would it all be lies?"

"The Director made sure that you wouldn't" she said. "Despite your Level 9 Clearance the specific document regarding that Phil was alive was sealed from you, as you are an Avenger as well"

I laughed at the formality of how she was speaking about this whole situation. "Let's not kid ourselves Maria" I said and the smile was still on my face. A not so healthy smile may I add. "It was not the fact that I am an Avenger that made you keep that file from me"

"Skye, I am really sorry about–"

"' _Sorry' doesn't cut it Maria!_ " I yelled at her, my demeanour changing to anger instantly. The feeling that was boiling inside my veins finally making its grand appearance.

"I have spent more than _two_ years re-living that day! You have no idea what I went through to get to the point where I am now and all you have to say is that you are ' _sorry_ '? Who do you want to convince, huh? Me, or yourself? Or maybe you want to call Pepper and ask her how many sleepless or nightmare filled nights I have had in the past two years. You knew how hard Phil's death hit me. I was the one who killed him for crying out loud! I was the one who drove a spear through his heart and left him on the floor to bleed to death as I made sure the Alien-Nazi escaped!

"For fucks sake Maria. I was torn apart after what happened. It took me months before this hole in my heart even tried to start healing. And you were nowhere near to help, no. It was all because of my sister, my brother, Pepper and the others. Hell! Even the Captain freaking America, who couldn't stand me after everything that happened was there for me after seeing how much the death of someone, who I had grown to love as a father, did to me!" My anger was so great, but I was still holding back. "And then, what? I not only find out that he is alive, but that for some reason he has absolutely no fucking idea who I am? This is just a new low, even for you" my words full of disgust. "I know you like following the rules and now that you are Deputy Director you don't have much of a choice but this is like stabbing me in the back!"

"Skye" she finally said with a warning tone.

"Oh, don't 'Skye' me! I know what you want to say, okay? I am careful, I have been careful for years now. If you think that this is my whole wrath towards what is happening you are gravely mistaken. I _am_ holding back. I am holding back so that this whole plane doesn't collapse onto itself, so that the ground doesn't start shaking and questions are asked. I know, okay? And I am going to work day in and day out, practically living with a person who I know so well, but can't say anything to because he has no idea who I a-am" I couldn't get the last part out without my voice breaking and a new set of tears running down my cheeks. "Well, thanks a lot. I wonder what the two of you are going to get me for a birthday present"

I took a couple of moments to collect myself, as I straightened my back and wiped away the last trace of the water that had escaped my eyes. "Now, I know that despite us being the same Level you outrank me, being DD and all. But I am going to say this once and you better pass this message because I really don't care what happens. Tell _Nick_ , that he better come prepared to answer my questions. Soon. Because one way or another, I will get them and even if you send the whole of the organisation after me they will not stop me. Am. I. Understood?"

"Yes" was Maria's reply, not that I was expecting anything else.

"Great" I said seriously with a nod, the mask that Natasha had taught me how to wear taking its place on my face. "Now, if that is all, I need to accommodate myself in my new quarters" I made a move to shut the connection down when I heard my name being called.

I lifted my gaze and heard the continuation, "They can't know"

"And they won't. I will keep your secret and keep telling lies. I will discuss this issue further with Nick when he decides to make an appearance" and without hesitation I turned off the connection and took a deep breath.

I switched the cameras and microphones of the room back on before exiting the room, almost bumping into Jemma as she ran up to me as soon as she saw me with an exited smile on her face. "Agent Coulson told us the news! What a wonderful surprise!"

I smiled back at her, hoping that she wouldn't be able to see behind my fake smile and question what was going on. Because if she did, I didn't trust myself not to tell her, I had vowed not to lie to her after all. So I put on my best performance as she hugged me tightly, always careful of my injured shoulder and went on and on about the adventures we would have together. And I looked so excited on the outside, while I was slowing dying on the inside...


	64. Girls' Night

**ΑΝ.1: Hello there. As always many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ for being the awesome Beta they are. A slightly bigger chapter for you all for this special day (another AN with more explanation will follow at the end). Until then...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Come in"

I opened the door to Coulson's office and peeked inside as he lifted his head from the papers in front of him and gazed in my direction. "If this is a bad time I can come back later" I told him.

"No, no it's okay" he replied, shuffled the papers in his hands and then placed them in a drawer. "What can I do for you agent Skye?"

I smiled inside with the small victory of him calling me by my name. Well, at least calling me _partially_ by my name. True, we would spend a lot of hours contained in the same airplane, so it would be really awkward if he called me 'Agent' all the time. But despite my logic telling me that it was for pure convenience, it brightened, even a little, my really bad day. "Since you debriefed me on the way here, and since I am guessing that we don't have any new missions at the moment, would it be okay with you if I spend the night at a friend's? I know we are flying to New York at the moment. I have been undercover for many months and haven't had the chance to let them know of what was going on…" I had started rambling without even realising it. "And since I will be living here from now on I thought it would be nice to give them a heads up so they don't worry. I can always stay here if you want me to or I can–"

I stopped talking when I heard Coulson laughing. A really large smile was plastered on his face and he stood up, walked around his office and came to a stop in front of me. He placed his hand on my good shoulder and patted me a couple of times.

"That's completely fine by me. I understand that you haven't really seen anyone and after all, Simmons has informed me that you are in light duty for the next week as well. As long as you don't do anything to strenuous I don't see why you would have to stay here and not only for a day. So, when we reach New York feel free to meet with whoever you want. I don't need to remind you that everything we do here is classified. I will call you as soon as we have a new mission. Just keep your phone on you the whole time, will you?" And with a nod he turned around and walked back towards his office.

His behaviour towards me was so different from how it was ever since we met that I had to shake my head to get out of the trance that I found myself in. "Sir" I called and he turned around to face me.

I took a deep breath and walked up to him. "I know that we didn't start off in the best way possible and I can only apologise if my actions have created mistrust between us". There was no better time to tackle this subject than the present. "If it is okay with you, I would like to start over" I genuinely said and tilted the corners of my mouth ever so slightly.

He smiled back. "I know we did. This is partially my fault as well, I have to admit"

"Oh please sir, you don't have to–" I started but didn't get to continue.

"Let me finish" he interrupted as he raised his palm. "I was wrong to judge you so early on. We did meet in a very unconventional way but it doesn't excuse my behaviour towards you. Starting over would be something that I would like to do as well. After all, Maria Hill guaranteed for you and her word means a lot to me. So tell you what will happen. Unless you betray it, starting from now, you have my trust and I would hate for you to break it. After all, I got a second chance. Seems only fair I extend the same opportunity to others" and with that he extended his hand for me to shake, which I did without even thinking about it.

My mind was stuck on how he spoke about his second chance, talking about it as if it was nothing. "For what it's worth, I am really sorry for what happened before the Battle of New York" I felt like I owed him an apology.

As he had no idea about the true intentions of my apology he was quick to dismiss it. "It's not your fault. The only one to blame is Loki" he said as he retreated back to his desk. "I will let you know if we get a new assignment, until then enjoy yourself in New York"

I took that as my cue to leave and I did just that. I could feel a combination of very unpleasant feelings, that I had locked away long ago, start spreading through my chest. I laid my head back on the wall and closed my eyes as I took a few deep breaths to compose myself. If Jemma saw me like that she would ask questions and I wanted to get off this plane as soon as possible.

It took me a couple of minutes before I found the courage to let Jemma know I was going to go away for at least one night. My classic mask took its place on my face as I straightened my back and headed to the lab. In my emotional turmoil I forgot to check my vibrational mind map for anyone else other than Jemma. Otherwise I would have noticed the cockpit door being open and May watching as I gathered myself and then walking away.

* * *

I had called ahead, so as soon as we landed there was a car waiting for me to take me to my destination.

I had already unpacked anything that I needed from the van and had placed them in my living quarters. I knew that I wasn't spending the night and I didn't want to leave anything too personal or of value in the Bus, but was also aware that I had clothes and anything I wanted in the place that I was heading to. So I only packed a bag with my laptop, the hula girl and anything else I deemed necessary, as well as the case which had my gauntlets stored inside. After all, you never know what could happen.

I made sure to lock my bunk before I left. I had already played around with the security system which locked my door and added a few parameters to gaining access. I didn't want to have anyone, _*cough*_ Ward _*cough*_ , looking around my stuff.

Jemma wasn't too pleased when I told her I was going, she thought that we would have some time to catch up before our next mission. But after I told her that we would be basically living together she couldn't argue. And after all we only had Fitz's bunk in between ours, so it was not like she was on the other side of the Bus. Like that would be some great distance, but whatever.

My thoughts were interrupted by the car slowing down and I peeked outside the window.

 _Jesus,_ I mentally sighed. _Don't these people have anything better to do?_

I was really happy that the windows of the car were tinted at the moment. If not, I was sure that there would be so many photographs of me in the morning papers and all over the internet.

We eventually managed to pass the reporters with the help of the building's security and we parked on the underground parking. The driver was quick to exit the vehicle and came around to open the door for me. As soon as I was out he went to the trunk and was about to pick up my bags.

"That's okay, I will take it from here" I said and he didn't argue. So with the bag thrown over my good shoulder and the case in my hand I made my way to the elevator.

"Welcome back Ms. Skye" a very familiar English accent filled the air.

"It's nice to be back Jar" I smiled at the camera of the metal box that I was in as we ascended. "And seriously now, 'Ms. Skye'? I haven't heard you calling me that since the very first time I started working for Tony. Did he change your programming while I was away?"

"A lot have happened from the last time you were here and since Mr. Stark relocated himself here" the A.I. replied. "My protocols have been renewed. As you were not here when that happened, I am referencing how I called you when you first arrived here"

That's right. Both Tony and Pepper had gone through quite the ordeal not long after I left. And I could do nothing but watch the development in the news as the Malibu mansion exploded. I gulped, wondering in what stated I would find the two of them. Tony had PTSD after the Chitauri Invasion but as he and Pepper spend more of their time in the mansion while I stayed in the Avengers Tower, I couldn't help anyhow.

I shook my head to get back to the present. "Well, guessing that I still have the access that I did I am going to over-ride that protocols of yours. Over-ride _Sierra-27-Quebec-03._ How about you call me just Skye unless there are any guests or unfamiliar faces?"

"As you wish, Skye" he said as we reached my floor.

"Where is Pepper?" I asked as I put the black case on my bed and let the bag fall off my shoulder.

"Ms. Potts is in the common room waiting for your arrival. Shall I take you to her?", he questioned when I stepped back into the elevator.

"That would be great, thank you"

I wait patiently for the few seconds to pass before we reach the desired floor with the sofas and the bar. As soon as the doors opened I saw the smiling face of Pepper. I couldn't help but mimic the expression as I stepped out and walked over to greet her. She noticed my sling and was careful enough not to go anywhere near my right side as she hugged me tightly.

"It's so good to see you" she said as she stepped back and pointed at the couch for us to sit on.

"It's good to see you too, I've missed talking to you. I'm sorry that I wasn't in touch after everything that happened. How are you doing?" I immediately replied as we took our respective seats close to one another.

"You have nothing to apologise for" she brushed me off. "You had said that you had to go dark for an undetermined period of time, it's not like you disappeared off the face of the earth. You had mentioned though that Maria would be in contact with you, so I asked her to let you know that we were fine so that you wouldn't worry. Did she not tell you?", her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I giggled at her expression. "She did tell me. But I will always worry if I can't see the situation for myself, you know that. I can't help but care and having only heard that you were fine and whatever the news showed was not nearly enough for my liking…" I grabbed her hand and squeezed, her blue eyes locking with mine. "I know it must have been hard and I _am_ sorry that I was not here for you before. But, even for a few days, I am here now. And I've been there, still am to be honest. So I understand and I am going to tell you what you said to me all those years ago. I am here if you need anything, okay? No matter the time. And it doesn't matter if I am on a mission, if you need anything you will call me and I will get back to you as soon as possible, you hear me?"

I saw a couple of tears gathering at the edges of her eyes as she squeezed back my hand. She took a staggering breath, raised her other hand to brush off the water from her eyes and cleared her throat. "What about you? How are you doing and what on earth happened to your arm? I swear, I can't leave you alone for a few months and you go around injuring yourself" she exclaiming madly. Only it was a fake kind of mad as her expression told me another story.

And, well… if she wanted to change the subject because she didn't want to talk about what happened I couldn't argue.

"It's a long story but the end result was that I got shot but becau–"

"Oh my God! You got shot? What happened? Are you okay" Pepper didn't let me finish.

I just smiled at her and squeezed her hand once more to make sure she was listening to me. "As I was saying…" I trailed off and she mouthed 'sorry' before letting me continue. "There was this man we had to take down, alive. But there was a third party that tried to kill him and I pushed him away so that he would survive for sure. I didn't have my gauntlets on and the other agents don't know of my powers, so I made a thin protection layer that prevented the bullet from actually piercing me and I got away with just some bruises". I brought the collar of my t-shirt down and showed the blue and black patch of skin to her. "See, I am fine. It could have been much worse than this"

I stopped talking and I could see Pepper looking at the bruises and her taking in all the information that she just heard. She absentmindedly nodded and then something seemed to click in her head. "Wait, did you say you didn't have your gauntlets? Can you use your powers without them now? Doesn't it hurt your arms?"

"Not really" I send a small vibration through our linked hands and she sharply looked down at them, before lifting her head so her attention was back on me. "If I use them in a small extent I don't need them"

Her eyes never left mine during my explanation. She seemed to search something in them and it felt like something that I hadn't come across since the last time that I saw her or my sister. It felt like she could see right through my happy mask and into my soul. "You didn't answer my initial question though" she started quietly and I knew that what I felt was as real as it gets. "How are you doing?"

And just like that I was undone.

My smile trembled at its edges while I tried very hard to keep it on my face. It soon though disappeared as my vision blurred. There was a sort of explosion in my chest and everything that I kept inside since I first laid my eyes on Coulson spread in my heart and took over.

I closed my eyes hard, titling my head to the side and away from Pepper. This was wrong. Pepper had been through so much and she stood in front of me strong. And here was I, breaking down for something that I should have been over a long time ago. I could feel the buzzing feeling in my hands as I tried to put everything back into the small boxes that I had stored them in. I hadn't lost control in over a year and a half now and I so didn't want to break that strike.

So absorbed in my own world was I, that I didn't notice the hot tears running down my face or how Pepper had closed in. That was until gentle fingers touched my chin and moved my head so that I was facing the other woman in the room.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry" I managed to get out as her hand moved to my cheek and her thumb stroked the skin there.

"Come here" she said and it was enough for me to fall in her open arms. She gave me a few moments to calm myself down before speaking again. "What happened? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to or if it's classified though" she whispered to me.

I sniffled and thought back to the events of the last two days. The hand that seemed to have taken a hold of my heart squeezed in the memories and I physically curled up further into a ball as Pepper stroked my back. The physical touch of someone I felt so close to was helping me in more ways than any words could ever have.

"It's okay" she started repeating when I didn't answer her question. It was not that I didn't want to, it was more that I couldn't control myself enough to form the sentence that I wanted. After a while Pepper pushed my head from the crook of her neck, where I had buried it, and positioned it so that she could look at me. "I'm here, okay? You are here. Whatever it is, we will deal with. You are going to be alright" her eyes never leaving mine.

Just as I was mastering myself and the sun was starting to set, I took a deep breath and almost opened my mouth to tell Pepper what was going on. Or at least a non-classified version of it, as I had promised Hill that no-one from this group would learn of Coulson's resurrection, a _thumb_ was heard from the elevator doors and I turned around to see what was going on. I had barely turned my head in that direction before a wave of red filled my vision and I was engulfed into a fierce hug.

I was momentarily frozen and didn't reciprocate the hug whatsoever until the other person pulled back and I found myself looking into a pair of very upset green eyes.

A pair of hands were holding my head in place as those very eyes darted between my injured shoulder and my face. "Natasha?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows, not understanding how she came here, while my voice came out more hoarse than I intended.

My sister was kneeled in front of the sofa and was looking over me with concern. I made a move to turn and look at Pepper, meaning to ask what was going on, but I didn't get the chance as my sister brought my head back opposite to hers. The concern was replaced with a very calming and caring expression as her eyes pierced mine in the same way that Pepper's had just minutes ago. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not moving away.

"Pepper called when you said you'd come over. I was in DC wrapping up a mission so I drove here as soon as I could. She sent the boys to another of Stark's houses so that we could have a girls' night" she replied fast. "Now, tell me what's wrong" her tone gentle, yet not leaving any room for lies.

Without even thinking hard about it his name escaped my lips, "Phil".

It was Pepper's turn to speak. "I thought we were past this?", she asked.

She didn't know that I had killed him, only that he had died before the Battle of New York and I felt my throat close at that. Looking back at Nat, as she was one of the four people who knew exactly what happened, she took over and replied in my place. "This will never be something in the past for Skye". It was the truth and yet it concealed the events of that day. "But why now? Why again?" She shifted her attention back in me as she sat on the other side of me.

If I outright lied to her, especially in the state that I was in she would see right through it. She was the Black Widow after all. But despite that title of hers, she was first and foremost my sister. If there was one person who could read me like an open book, it would be her. So I had to come up with the closest excuse that I could find.

"The anniversary" I said and Natasha instantly seemed to understand me. "I was undercover so I couldn't do anything and had to bottle up everything. I guess now that I am out it just backfired and it hit me more hard that it should"

"Shit" she exclaimed quietly and gathered me in her arms. "It was a couple of weeks back, wasn't it?"

I just nodded and rested my head on her shoulder as I let myself feel safe in my sister's embrace.

The silence that filled the room was not an uncomfortable one and it filled the air for a while until Pepper broke it. "Is there anything you want us to do?"

She had moved closer and had placed herself right on my other side. Nat's arm was wrapped over my back and she was gently rubbing my good shoulder as Pepper was just holding my hand tightly. "Just stay with me?" My voice was small as I directed my question at them and at that moment I couldn't ask for anything more because when I was with them, I was at home. I was with my family.

There was a small pause which I knew was the two of them exchanging glances, as Natasha momentarily stopped her movement. And then as if it was the same person, the rubbing on my shoulder resumed and the hand gripping mine squeezed harder. "Always" came their synchronised reply.

* * *

 **AN.2: Today is the 1st year anniversary of this story! A very big thank you to all of you who support this story. To everyone who has favorited/followed/reviews/read this story. This wouldn't have been possible without you and we (with _MegaDiary123)_ really appreciate all of you. Thank you all so much! Have a great day everyone!**


	65. Sleep Tight

**AN: Hello people, just a small note from me. Many thanks to _MegaDiary123,_ as always, and to all of you supporting this story. Unfortunately I won't be able to upload next weekend. I won't have computer access and it will be quite a hectic week as well. I will see you all in two weeks time, until then...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

The rest of the evening went by quickly, we ordered take-out and stayed on the sofas enjoying each other's company. I was the first one to retreat to my room, as I was beat. I hadn't had much sleep the previous night as we were after Mike Peterson and when the other two saw that I couldn't keep my eyes open they insisted I headed to bed. And if you think for a moment that I would disagree with Natasha and Pepper when they are in the 'big sister' and 'mother' modes, respectively, then you are mistaken.

Seeing that I had a very eventful day, sleep was right around the corner and the moment my head touched the pillow I was in dreamland… unfortunately. I had hoped that I would be too tired for any dreams to find me, but luck was never on my side to begin with…

 _I was walking through familiar corridors. I could hear destruction happening all around me, much of which was caused by myself. The Helicarrier was falling, and fast. I walked into the cell where Loki was located and everything started to play out just like that day. Thor was locked away and screaming just as Phil walked in. And just like that day, I landed quietly behind him and pierced him right through the heart._

 _He fell to the ground as I pulled the sceptre away. "Skye?", he whispered in shock and unlike what had true happened this seemed to snap something in me._

 _Suddenly I felt a fog clouding my mind and I blinked a handful of times. I closed my eyes shut and willed it to go away and when I opened them again it was just the two of us in the room. Phil and I. I look down at my hand and just realised that I was still holding the sceptre, which I threw away as if it was on fire._

 _I fell to my knees and put pressure on the fatal wound. My hands were coated with Phil's blood as life was slowly fading from his eyes. I could see his eyelids close and I all but screamed at him._

 _"_ _Hey, hey! AC, stay awake. Stay with me!"_

 _That seemed to do its job, only it was for a little while, as his eyes opened slightly and he gazed up to look at me. There was blood that started trailing down at the side of his mouth and I yelled, to no-one in particular. Yelled for help to get there, for him not to die, for anything to change the outcome that we both knew was coming._

 _I saw him move his lips, as if he wanted to say something and I leaned in, trying to listen to his voice as it barely managed to leave his throat._

 _"_ _This is your… fault. I… I will never… forgive you… for… this…"_

 _I stood back, stung by his words as he breathed out and his head rolled to the side, completely lifeless. "No, no, no, no…" I kept repeating on and on, still putting pressure on his wound. "You can't be dead" I brokenly whispered with my eyes shut._

 _"_ _But I am not" I heard Phil say clear as day and my head snapped back to his direction._

 _He looked at me, but was not really looking at me, as he pried my hands off his chest and he stood up. There was no recognition on his face as he looked at me head to toes. Because this was not AC, or Phil. This was Coulson. "Who are you?" He asked in an authoritative voice. When I did not reply right away he continued and even started walking up to me, as I took step after step backwards. "I asked you a question,_ agent _" he said more forcefully as he cornered me. "Who are you?"_

 _My breaths were becoming shallow and rapid, without any oxygen really reaching my lugs. I blinked,_ and I was back in my room in the Avengers Tower.

I blinked a handful more times, making sure that I was back. My inhales hadn't stopped coming in short, as my t-shirt and shorts were clinging to my body because of the sweat pouring out of my body. I could feel the bed-frame shaking.

 _Fuck_ , I thought. I had to deal with this, and fast, before it got out of hand or proportions.

"Jar" I called the A.I. as I got up and headed to the elevator, grabbing my gauntlets on the way there. "Take me to my gym" I ordered as the doors closed behind me. J.A.R.V.I.S. said nothing as he arranged for the elevator to reach the desired floor. I run out of the metal box as soon as I could and locked the door of the gym as soon as I walked in.

"Activate the walls" I called and there was a clicking noise which verified that my command was seen to.

I was too rattled to do some Tai Chi, that was aside from my somewhat inability to actually practise it because of my injured shoulder. So I would have to take something more hands-on. I walked to the side where the First Aid and Medical Supplies were I had to make sure that my right arm was tightly held against my chest, so that my shoulder would not be as affected from what I was about to do. But before that I wrapped my left hand and put the gauntlets on top of the tape.

I walked towards the enhanced bag and let my frustrations and thoughts manifest in the form of punches. Each punch was powered not only by strength but by vibrations as well. I could tell that the whole room would be shaking had it not been for Tony's improvements to the personalised room.

I didn't know how much time had passed since I started assaulting the bag, but despite my best efforts to minimise the tremors reaching my bruises, I couldn't restrain all of them. So the pain in my right side increased progressively, until I couldn't ignore it any longer.

I fell to the floor next to the bag, lying on my back as I let the exhaustion and pain take over. Maybe dreams wouldn't follow me this time.

* * *

 _Natasha's POV_

I had just finished a mission that I was sent to with Rogers when Pepper called. The moment she said that Skye would be coming over for the night I knew that I was going to going as well. "What about Tony and Bruce?" I had asked her and she informed me that she already had taken care of it.

Rogers was kind enough to finish up for me as well when I filled him in the situation. So, soon I was in my car and on the way to the Avengers Tower. I only packed a small bag, given that the plan was for me to stay a couple of nights. I had also a handful of clothes in my own floor at the Avengers Tower, as I stayed there a few nights after the Battle, mainly to be close to Skye.

After four and a half hours, I reached the Tower and the sun was just about to set. I had a smile on my face at the thought of seeing my sister again. But that smile was erased from my face as soon as I saw her tear-filled expression when I stepped into the room. The bag fell from my grip as I rushed to her. When she explained the reason it all made sense. The last time that I had seen her so upset was at Phil's one-year death anniversary.

With Pepper's help, we managed to ease her a bit and not long after she headed to bed.

"You think she is going to be alright?" Pepper asked when she was sure that Skye wouldn't hear us.

"She will be. I will make sure of it" I said with confidence and turned to look at her. "I never thanked you for calling me"

She just brushed it off. "Please. We all know that Skye has a soft spot for you and you for her". I raised an eyebrow at that. "What? Was that supposed to be a big secret or something? You are practically radiating when I as much as mention her, let alone for the two of you being in the same room together" she explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But if it makes you feel any better, your secret is safe with me" she nodded at me. "I would do anything for Skye"

"I know you would" the words left my mouth before I had time to filter them. I would usually be more up tight with someone I didn't know so well. True, we did know each other for about three years now, but in that spam we hadn't talked all that much. Our main connection was Skye, but that seemed to be enough. "You know that she loves you, right?" I asked seriously. Every evidence of laughter was erased from my face.

When she took in my serious demeanour, she mimicked my expression. "I do. I love her as well, she is like a daughter to me" she didn't hesitate to reply.

"Good" I said back when I didn't get any signs of lying from her part. "You better not do anything to hurt her, she has lost enough people that she cares about" I continued and after that I let out a sigh, as I stood. "I will call it a night if that's okay with you". I was stopped short by Pepper calling my name and she didn't even have to continue for me to know what she wanted to say. "I will make sure she is fine" and with that I left towards my floor.

"J.A.R.V.I.S." I called as soon as I walked in. "Let me know if Skye quakes anything or if she wakes up at night"

I laid on the bed, with sleep escaping through my fingers as my thoughts went to my sister. Just as I was about to nod off, I was awaken by the A.I.'s voice.

"Ms. Romanoff, I am terribly sorry to interrupt your rest, but Skye's room registers increasing vibrations" I had just managed to get up before he spoke again. "She just instructed me to take her to her training hall, shall I resume with her request?"

I contemplated about it for a couple of seconds before replying. "Yes. Do as she asks. Also, send the video feeds to my computer".

I walked over to my desk and opened my laptop. Two different live-time feeds appeared on my screen and I watched as Skye went on to assault the punching bag.

I was expecting for something like this to happen, for a nightmare to resurface. And I knew better than interrupting her in this moment, I had only made that mistake once and my back still hurts at the memory of being sent flying to the other side of the room.

Skye had a really hard time managing Phil's death. And with good reason after all. But, given that no-one other than Clint, Fury, Maria and I knew about what really happened in the Helicarrier, the others couldn't understand why it was so hard on her. They would mainly think that it was because of the mind control that she was under and what she was ordered to do in that state, which was partially true.

It had taken us a while to get her to open up and talk about what she was feeling. And it was mostly towards Clint, myself and Pepper that she felt the most free to talk about stuff like that. The rest of the group was really understanding, and I think that that helped her a lot. We knew that we had a long road ahead for her to truly recover from the mental strain of what happened before New York, but we knew that we would get there. And get there we did. She had learned how to better deal with her emotions when she woke up at nights, usually having some alone time with Tai Chi to clear her thoughts. In some of her worst cases she would go down to the gym and beat up the bag. At the beginning she would be so rattled that she would forget to wrap her hands and she would end up having bleeding knuckled the next day.

So we knew that we got there. And despite this small relapse, she was dealing with everything so much better. First off, it wasn't her whole room shaking, as was the case the first few nights. It was so bad at some point that Tony had to enhance the walls and make them vibration-proof. The same happened with the gym. Vibration-proof walls could be activated when J.A.R.V.I.S. was ordered and all the equipment inside, _especially the bags_ , were enhanced to withstand and absorb a part of her quakes so that they wouldn't break apart after the first couple of punches.

The punching sound and grunting that had filled the room suddenly stopped and I turned my attention back to the screen when I found Skye basically passed out on the floor.

I deeply sighed and headed there. J.A.R.V.I.S. unlocked the gym's door and de-activated the walls for me as I walked towards my sister. She had worked herself to sleep. _Again_. This was her first coping mechanism, as she has figured that in this way she might get some uninterrupted sleep, with her brain too tired to master any more terrors. And the last time that it had gotten so bad that she retreated to that was about a year ago.

I lifted her in my arms, always careful not to wake her. I didn't want all her work to go to vain.

I took her back to her room, pried off the gauntlet and the wraps from her hand, tucked her in bed and with a small towel I took some of the sweat from her forehead off. When I made sure that Skye was as comfortable as she could get, I exited her room and walked towards the living room of her floor. As each of us had a floor of our own, we had our individual living rooms and kitchens as well. I knew that Stark didn't know what to do with his money and at first I couldn't find the use for such luxuries, but the more nights I spend in Skye's sofas to make sure she was actually sleeping, the more I appreciated Stark's money.

And this was how I spend the following two nights as well. Skye managed to stay in for a solid three nights, before she was called in the fourth morning for a mission.

While she was in the Tower, we talked about everything and nothing with Pepper, always within reason. Tony and Bruce wanted to come by at some point to see Skye as well, but after Pepper talked with them they backed off. I didn't know exactly what she told them, but I was grateful either way. I knew that Skye wouldn't want an even bigger audience.

By the time she left again, she managed to get half a night's sleep before getting up for some easy Tai Chi. She still couldn't do much with her shoulder after all. But this was enough to let me know that she could work it out on her own from now on. We also had her promise both of us to keep in touch and contact us if she needed anything, no matter the time. Before saying a proper goodbye to me, she walked to the side with Pepper for a bit, exchanging some words and a brief but fierce hug.

When my turn came I wrapped her in my arms and whispered to her ear. "You know that I am always here for you and you can tell me anything, right?"

"Of course" she whispered back and I could tell that she was smiling just from the sound of her voice. "Tell Rogers I said hi and let me know if he needs any more help with re-adjusting to modern technology" she pulled away with a smirk on her face.

"I will" I smirked back. "Though Clint will be hurt that you didn't ask me to tell him anything"

"Oh, please. We both know that you have kept him updated during my whole stay here" she directed an eye-roll at me and I just nonchalantly lifted my shoulders. "Fine, tell him I love him and I miss him. Satisfied?"

"Sure as hell he will be" I pulled her towards me and kissed her on the forehead. "Take care little one. And don't go looking for trouble"

She giggled at that. "I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble finds me no matter what. It's our love-hate relationship"


	66. 0-8-4

**AN: Here we go with the start of the E02. Thank you _MegaDiary123_ and I will see you lots next weekend!**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I arrived at the airfield from where we would fly off and got off the car that Pepper had arranged for me to take. I could see the questioning look from Ward at the cargo hold, before he disappeared up the stairs and probably to the briefing room. I was only informed that we had a mission, so I still had to learn what the mission was about.

"Hello Skye" Jemma greeted me as she walked out of her lab with Fitz hot on her heels. Well, some things never seemed to change.

"Hey, here let me take that" the boy said as he took the sack from my shoulder while I carried the black case.

"Thanks Fitz" I smiled at him. "So, how were the last couple of days for you guys? Boring?" I asked as we walked up the stairs and towards my bunk.

"Nothing too exciting happened, that's for sure. Nothing much to do in this airborne mobile command station" with that he placed my bag on the floor and then turned around, smirking at me. "But you can call it the _Bus_. You know, we find it best use shorthand when in the field, because of the _danger_ " the way that he said the last word had me almost doubling with laughter.

Oh boy. Fitz was way over his head. "You know I know all that, right?" I asked, still not able to fully contain the giggles that escape my lips. "I am a fully badged agent and have been on the field. Trust me, I have seen far more ' _danger'…_ " I said mimicking his pronunciation "…than you have"

I could see the red creeping up Fitz's cheeks and he was just about to reply when May's voice came through the speakers. "Wheals up in two. Lock it or lose it"

"I guess this is it then" I said to FitzSimmons. "have to talk with agent Coulson after all" I waved them off and placed the case on my bed. The science twins had just left and as I turned around to look for the leader of this team, I saw Ward approach me with a frown on his face. Well, I had promised both Coulson and Hill that I would try, so let us try. I took a deep breath and started, "Hey, I know we didn't really had the–" but of course didn't get the chance to finish.

"You better read that" he just said as he handed me the pamphlet of the Bus and then just walked off.

"Peachy" I whispered in the direction where the stubborn robot had just disappeared to.

"What's peachy?"

Coulson appeared out of the blue. I smiled at him and decided that talking about my very healthy relationship with Ward was not what he wanted to hear about. "This ride" I started as we both strolled towards the sofas. "It's pretty sweet. I have been on some aircrafts before, mainly Quinjets. None compare to this. How did you get this beauty?"

"I earned a little good will from director Fury because of the sceptre piercing my heart. Got a few months R&R in Tahiti and this plane. Had it completely refurnished, spared no expense" he explained as we sat down and buckled up.

"Tahiti, huh? Never been there, how was it?" I asked, withholding any information I could get so that I would ask our _pristine_ director when we meet.

"It's a magical place"

Soon the engines started and we took off to… somewhere? "So, where are we going?" I eventually asked.

"Peru, more specifically in Llactapata" he declared and threw the mission file on the table in front of us. "That's where an 0-8-4 was reported. We need to follow protocol and assess how big of a threat it poses"

 _Huh,_ I thought. _The last time I was in a mission involving an 0-8-4 was my first ever mission with May back in the Academy. It's been a while._ "What was your last 0-8-4 mission, mine was quite… memorable" I concluded.

"Mine was quite interesting as well to be honest" he said with a smirk full of pride that had me raising an eyebrow. "It was a hammer" I could hear the happiness in his voice which had the edges of my lips tilt upwards. After a while in the comfortable silence that filled the air he looked at me and then his gaze dropped to my sling. "Has Simmons cleared you out?"

"Nope" I said, popping the 'p' for emphasis.

"You might want to head down to the lab then" he said as soon as the seatbelts-on sign disappeared. "We still have a few hours until we reach Peru, that should be more than enough time for your physical"

"Yes, sir" I made a move to stand up but was stopped when I heard my name being called.

"When it's just us you don't need to be so formal. 'Coulson' will do just fine, or even 'agent Coulson' if you feel more comfortable with that. But please drop the 'sir'. It makes me feel old" he said and shivered at the last word.

This was more of the Coulson that I remembered and it warmed me on the inside. "You are the boss, Coulson. Your wish is my command" I said playfully and was glad to receive a giggle from him as I walked down the stairs.

For some reason, as I looked at Jemma waiting for me to examine my shoulder, my mind traveled back to the first night at the Avengers Tower and the punching bag and I had a feeling how much of a scolding I was about to get from the British agent.

* * *

"Oh, come on Jemma! I can totally go on the field!" I told her, as she headed towards Coulson's office. _Pleaded_ would be a more accurate word now that I think about it, but who cares. "You said it yourself, I can totally fire a handgun with my left" I tried to reason as I stopped her right before she knocked on the door.

"This isn't up for discussion Skye" she said with her 'doctor's' voice on which left no room for argument. Well, there was always room for argument when it came to my conversations with Jemma but that was irrelevant. "I don't know what you did when you were off seeing your _friends,_ but you didn't follow my instructions that's for sure. If you had, then I would be more than happy to clear you for active duty, but that shoulder needs at least another full day of rest before you even think about physical training" and before I had the chance to even say anything she was knocking on the door and the superior agent was asking us both to walk in.

That was how I ended up staying behind on the Bus while the others went to evaluate the 0-8-4. We landed quite late in the afternoon in Peru so we had to work in a relatively hurry. Didn't want the night to catch us while we were still out in the open. It would be a lot better if we had secured the artefact and were on our way back by the time the sun set.

"So, what am I supposed to do from here?" I asked as the team was divided into two groups, for each group to reach the 0-8-4's location in a different vehicle.

"We know that the locals are already dealing with anti-mining rebels and the Shining Path guerrillas. Wouldn't want them to worry about anything else. So, if it gets out I will need you to post something irrelevant. Create some kind of diversion and put the public on the wrong scent" he said. "You can only use one hand so it's better for you either way to stay here were you are closer to any computers. Plus, you will have communications up here, so you will know exactly what's going on in the field" By the time he finished talking May and Ward had already boarded one car and he headed to the one with FitzSimmons to start his drive. He opened the vehicle door and turned to me saying "Just stay out of the cockpit", before taking the driver's seat and going off to the location.

I found myself bored not even ten minutes since I was left alone. And just because Coulson told me not to, the idea of going the cockpit was so tempting at the moment. But something held me back, as I knew that it was May's space and I had a feeling that she would know if I stepped in her sacred place.

I listened as Jemma and Fitz talked about science and not only stuff, Fitz being particularly fascinated by monkeys. Coulson was mainly talking with the authorities, letting the two scientists work and May and Ward discuss nothing in particular. What I did find interesting was that when Ward called May "the Cavalry" her reply was a sharp "Don't call me that". I hadn't heard such a definite tone from her since I was in the Academy. True, I hadn't really kept in touch with her and hadn't as much as seen her since our mission together, so I guessed I had a lot of catching up to do. When I was hacking S.H.I.E.L.D. to make sure that everyone was okay the only info I had gotten on May was her transfer to Administration, which struck me as strange, but I never really got deep enough to see the reason for her transfer. Hm… Maybe I could–

My inner monologue was cut short when the sound of gunshots filled my ears.

 _Shit._ I was useless in here. I had no idea what was happening and all I wanted was to make sure that everyone was okay. "Coulson, what's your status?" I asked in my earpiece only to get no reply. "Coulson, come in" I said after a few seconds.

I let out a sigh of relief when I heard his voice. "It's all good here, a small misunderstanding with the Peruvian militia police. Comandante Camilla Reyes joined in with her squad"

I had never heard of that name before, but the way that Coulson was pronouncing it, it gave me a feeling that he knew her well. There was on disturbance in the other side of the coms, so I decided, what the hell. I might as well try to find as much information on this _Comandante_ as I could. However, just as I was about to start typing, new gunfire filled my ears and all my attention was diverted to that.

"Coulson, what is happening?" There was no reply and I knew that this time it was different from before as I heard a lot more commotion, noise and the firing had yet to stop, accompanied with explosions. "Anyone, come in" I said, linking my earpiece to the whole team, hoping one would be able to provide an answer.

"Ramp" I heard the commanding voice of May. As I was running down the spiral staircase she continued. "We are coming in hot. Hostiles on our six. Coulson is right behind us" she said in such a rapid succession that I almost didn't catch all that.

I pressed the bottom for the cargo hold to drop as I took my handgun off its holster. Just as the ramp touched the ground, one S.H.I.E.L.D. marked vehicle run in and parked on.

May run out of the car and headed inside, probably to the cockpit to prepare for take off, Ward just got off and went to stand by where I had been minutes ago ready to close the ramp the moment Coulson was safe. And I run towards FitzSimmons as two cars approached fast, bullets flying in the air.

I grabbed Jemma from her elbow and threw her behind me, making sure she was safe. "Get off the ramp. You are in the line of fire" I said and sensed them both backing away which let me focus on the events unfolding in front of me.

Along with Ward we covered Coulson and a bunch of other people dressed in military clothes before we managed to take off. By the time we were off the ground I could hear everyone panting and I turned around to see the two scientists on the floor in the corner and, especially Fitz, drenched in sweat.

"Now, what's going on?" Coulson said as he moved towards the boy.

"As I was saying" Fitz started taking a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, "the 0-8-4 has a high-frequency, fluctuating sub-material compression–"

"Fitz" Ward raised his voice in frustration, not understanding a word the Scottish was saying. "In English"

Another breath was taken by Fitz who was clearly trying to calm his nerves. He must have been so fed up with Ward for him to act like that. "It is fuelled by Tesseract technology" he tried to simplify. "Hydra, World War II. Captain America! It's full of lethal amounts of gamma radiation"

Ward looked at him in question. "Gamma? You are saying its nuclear" he tried to understand.

"No" I spoke and all eyes turned on me as my voice held some dread. "He is saying it's much, much worse". With that everyone looked back at the device and took a step away

* * *

Despite managing to calm everyone down a bit but and take the device inside the lab for further inspection, the argument started again as soon as Fitz and Ward walked in. The two of them started arguing like young boys, and not trained agents. Jemma was trying to stay civil, but even her at some point was dragged into the whole argument when Ward decided to declare how he, and I quote, "Would have eliminated the enemy threat himself, if he was working alone and not with non-combat-ready-agents". Yup. That struck a nerve that even Jemma's proper manners didn't allow.

"These people don't really like each other, do they?" I whispered at Coulson who had entered the lab and was watching and waiting, until he didn't anymore.

"You are not wrong" he said, replying to me, but his voice made the others stop talking. "We still need to iron out the kinks. But Ward, you can speak six languages. Simmons, you have 2 PhDs in fields I can't pronounce and Fitz, you are a rocket scientist" he looked at every one of them with intensity. "So work it out". Without as much as another word he backed away and led Comandante Reyes to his office.

"I-I am good at stuff too" I called back but he had already left…

Everyone from the team basically separated after that. I would love to stay down in the lab with Jemma, only to make sure that she was alright, but I knew that the best stress-relieving regiment for her at the moment was working on something and the beast person she would do that with was Fitz. I would only be in the way, so it was best I took myself out of this equation before that happened.

So, I went to the only place I could think of for the moment and that was my newly appointed home, my bunk.

I could see from the airplane windows that night had fallen, yet I knew that I wouldn't get any sleep that night. My adrenaline was still too high after what happened. And me not being in the situation, not being able to help still didn't sit well in my stomach.

I looked at the Hula girl who was shaking from the plane's engines. I could imagine Jemma looking me through her present and I furrowed my eyebrows at it.

"What?" I asked her. She just continued shaking, more forcefully than before, as if to answer my question. "Hey! It's not my fault, I tried okay. He doesn't want to listen". I was expecting her to continue shake left and right, only for her to suddenly stop as if asking me _'Seriously?'._ I narrowed my eyes at her and she seemed to stare right back at me. I huffed and threw my hands in the air. "Fine, fine! I'll talk to him, satisfied?" And with that the Hula girl started shaking again like she was happy with my reply. "I hate you too" I playfully told her before getting up and exiting my room.

I walked to Ward's bunk only to find it empty and so I guessed that he would be in the common room, which was indeed where I found him.

He was so absorbed in his book that he didn't even notice me approaching. I couldn't let that pass. "Divergent?" I asked him and moved closer.

"Matterhorn" he replied and showed me to cover of the book. "One of a hundred books my S.O. gave me that I'm getting around"

"Huh" I exclaimed. "Mine gave me Hunger Games" I said quietly to myself, thinking about Clint and how important it was for me to read a book with a girl and a bow.

"What?" Ward's voice was full of frustration and his trademark questioning look accompanied his question.

"Nevermind" I brushed it off. "I feel you and me… wrong foot. How about I 'buy you a drink'?" I asked, offering some of the whiskey that I found in the Bus' bar.

He closed his book and pointed to the seat in front of him for me to take. I sat down and poured the drink in his glass.

"What, no drink for you?" He asked when he notice that I had only brought one glass with me.

"Couldn't carry two glasses even if I wanted to" I pointed out with a smirk, lifting my sling a little bit for emphasis. He lifted both shoulders nonchalantly and sat back in his seat, looking at me, waiting for me to continue. "I have a feeling like we are back at the Academy, like how when we started and you hated me"

"I didn't hate you" he was fast to reply. When I lifted an eyebrow at him he lifted his hands in a non-threatening way. "I didn't. _Hate_ you that is. I just didn't like you"

"And you still don't" I supplied and when he didn't say anything at that I knew I hit home. "Look, I know you are used to working alone, but that doesn't have to be the only way for you to succeed in a mission. Trust me, I've been there and it's harder when you are alone. I am a specialist as well" I could tell that he didn't believe me when I said that but I stared him until he backed down. True, we never truly said the word 'specialist', but having an overall training from Clint, Natasha and Maria, alongside the fact that I was an Avenger… well I think that the title 'specialist' was something I had earned. "As I was saying, I know when you are used to working alone, it might be hard to accept help at the beginning. You are used to being the working alone that you don't see how hard it really is. This is what a team is all about"

"Okay…" he dragged out the word like he didn't really understand what I was saying.

I moved a little bit in my seat so that I was facing him better and went on to explain. "You are trained to think of the whole solution. But sometimes, one person doesn't have the solution. But if you take a team? Take you for example, without me in the equation. Before I came along you were a team of 5. So instead of you having to think of the solution yourself, 5 people with 20% of the solution? That will get it done. Like pieces solving a puzzle" I tried to make my point.

He seemed to contemplate my answer before taking a sip from his drink. "You and I see the word differently that's all"

"We always have and always will" I replied playfully which earned a smirk from him and I took that as a win. That was when I noticed some red stains in his white shirt. "Hey, did you get shot?" I asked.

"Skin deep, nothing to worry about" he brushed it off.

I was just about to reply, when I heard something. "Cockpit" I thought I heard May's voice in my head. My brows knit together in confusion as saw Ward's blank expression which meant that he hadn't heard the voice. "I am not going to repeat myself" she said again and then I realised that I hadn't taken my earpiece from the mission off.

"Ward, go and see Simmons about the wound". He made a move to protest but I stood up and lifted my hand to silence him. "I know it doesn't bother you, but this is a team. And no matter how upset you are with one another, I guarantee that she will bite your head off for not going to her sooner, I've been there. So please, just go. If only to verify that it is indeed nothing" I didn't wait to hear his reply as I strode off.


	67. Joseph

**AN: Good afternoon! A big thank you to _MegaDiary123_ for sticking with me all this time, and a welcome to all new readers. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I will see you next week with a much needed confrontation :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _May's POV_

After Phil came in the cockpit to talk with HQ and apologised for making me see combat he left. I didn't say anything to him, didn't have anything to tell him really. I had specifically requested and was promised that all I had to do was drive the Bus. So, yeah, I might have been quite upset with him, but who would blame me? Despite how good of a friend he was, sometimes he overstepped his boundaries and today was not an exception to that.

Normally I would have just put the autopilot on and go to keep an eye on our 'guests'. Coulson seemed to trust them, trust them enough to let them on-board, but I did not. I could still pick up some conversation from the audio system of the Bus, but that was the best I could do. As we were heading North, going from Peru to the Slingshot, we entered restricted airspace and we had to follow specific flight paths because of International regulations. That was how I would spend my night.

From the audio system I caught a conversation between Ward and Skye.

Skye…

That girl had been a mystery since I saw her again. She seemed to have been full of secrets and there were more than one occurrence where something happened around her which had me wonder. She had said that if I needed anything all I had to do was find her, huh? Well there was something that I needed, answers.

I checked my earpiece and found that she still had hers on. "Cockpit" I simply linked our coms and told her. When she stopped talking but I didn't hear any movement from her part to do as I said, I continued. "I am not going to repeat myself"

That seemed to do the trick, as she all but wrapped up the conversation she had with Ward and headed here. Soon there was a knock and I heard the faint noise of the door swooping open. "Lock it" I said and she hurried to do just that as she stepped in.

She placed herself on the co-pilot's seat and waited.

And when I didn't say anything she waited some more.

Until eventually she couldn't stand the silence anymore and after her eyes darted from my face to the sky in front of us and back a handful of times she spoke. "What is going on May?" Her voice was quiet, as if she didn't want to startle me and her tone carried the same affection like when she spoke to me in her van.

There were a few things that I could think about which Skye had to answer for. And I was not the confrontation type, keeping my thoughts to myself especially after… Bahrain. But there were just too much that happened and despite what many people thought, I cared.

Skye appeared out of thin air, and I guess I was trying to find the same girl that I knew all those years ago. Only for her to be replaced by the Skye that was sitting next to me and who I had got a glimpse of suffering despite the mask that she usually wore on her face. I knew that expression of hers, the internal struggle. It was like looking at a mirror. And still, she didn't push people away like I did, what she did was something more harmful to herself. She pushed the feelings away, locking them to put up a strong front for others. And despite not having seen her for so long, the memories of the little girl that we raised played in the back of my mind.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked her, and she seemed startled that I even said anything. She looked at me with a confusing expression on her face as she tried to understand what I was talking about. I shot her a look from the corner of my eyes before focusing back to the black sky ahead. "You know that Phil's office is right next to the cockpit" I said. Didn't ask, just said.

She seemed to grasp what I was talking about. "Phil" she repeated and the way she pronounced the name seemed almost as if she had just heard a joke. "Right. Is this about me telling you he doesn't remember me, or is it because of the other day?" She asked in return, quick to understand both layers of my question.

I let the silence speak for me.

"Sorry" she said and I spared a glance at her to see her look me in the eyes. "I guess I am just not used to you not taking that much" she rubbed the back of her neck in awkwardness. "I guess I will have to do the talking then, huh? Well, I can't really talk about them, either of them" She laid her head back on the seat and looked out of the window, lost in thought. "The first I don't know myself, yet. I intend to find out though. And the second… it's classified"

There we went again with the Clearance Levels. I still couldn't believe how she was a higher Level than me. And given the arrangement that I had with director Fury, so that I would keep an eye on Coulson and how he was after what happened in New York, I couldn't see how something related to Phil was classified to me. I guessed that I had to ask the man in person when I saw him.

"What about what happened in Union Station?", my voice filled the room once more.

"What about it?"

"I was there when you got shot. There was nothing between the bullet and you, so there is something you are not telling us. Wanna tell me what that is or will I have to dig to find out?"

"It's classified" she said and her voice had a final tone which I hadn't heard from her before. I could still pick up the sincerity in her words when she said, "I'm sorry Ma–"

Her word was cut short and I turned to look at her as she gazed at the door. "Skye?" I asked as I started feeling lightweight.

She got up and took one step towards the door before her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor. I would have gotten up to see what was wrong if my vision didn't go swimming, dizziness taking over right before I blacked out.

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I started waking up to Fitz talking. Then came Jemma's voice, and I only managed to get the last part of her sentence as she said "…you weren't ready"

Then came Ward's voice. "This was my job to make sure…"

 _Oh, I get it now_. _They are blaming themselves,_ was my first coherent thought as I properly woke up. My grunt as I tried to sit up was enough to make the three of them stop and turn to look at me.

"Hey, Skye" Jemma was the first one to address me. "How's the shoulder?"

"Sore" I said as I finally managed to properly lift my upper body from the floor. My hands were zipped behind my back, the sling disregarded on the floor. "If it was anyone's fault it's mine. I could sense that something was off, but by the time I figured what was happening it was too late. If I had been faster May could have helped out" I said.

"Sensed?" Ward asked.

"Probably like you figured something was wrong, picked up signs here and there" I lied. True, I had my reservations about the Peruvians, but it was mostly my vibrational radar that picked up the commotion in the main room as well as the person who stood outside the cockpit and probably filled the room with a gas that knocked us out.

"Agent May? No" Fitz said with certainty. "No, no. She was transferred from Administration"

I laughed at that. "If only you knew" I told him and when all three of them looked at me as if I had grown a second head I had to somehow explain. "I have worked with her on a mission before" it was not a complete lie.

Both scientists turned to look at Ward, trying to get a verification for what I just said. "You've heard of the Cavalry"

They both eye-rolled at him before Fitz started. "Yeah… well everyone from the Academy talks about a story–" he stopped short when realisation kicked in.

"She is the Calvary!" They both said in synch.

"I told you never to call me that" May's voice interrupted them and we all turned to look at her as she came to.

This was twice that I head May being called with the specific nickname, and both times the people who called her that got shut down. Now, I didn't know exactly what it meant and I didn't have a dead wish, so I wasn't going to ask. Ask _her_ that is. But something in the back of my head told me that this had something to do with the change in May, from how I remembered her and how she was now. I could always ask Natasha… but that would be prying on her personal business and I knew she wouldn't appreciate it. Maybe in time she would tell me? Or at least I hoped so.

I had zoned out, and May's voice brought me back to the present. "You two geniuses have nothing?"

Ah, we must be thinking of ideas as to how to escape and take back the Bus. Fitz almost seemed offended at the question being directed at them. "Yeah, but it is hard to concentrate under these intense situations". As I said before, that boy was way over his head.

"Hey, don't freeze out" came Ward's unexpected input. "Take a breath" he even took one deep himself trying to make the scientist imitate him. "You don't have to think of the whole solution, just part of it. Right?" He looked over the science twins at me with a smile and a similar expression marked my face.

"Yeah… pieces solving a puzzle" I said looking at the team. "So, what do we know so far?" I asked. We had to start from somewhere.

* * *

"Well this is the worst idea we have heard so far" Jemma was fast to dismiss what we had just planned out.

"It's the only solid idea we've had so far" I whispered-yelled at her, so as not to be heard by the goon that was not keeping a very good eye on us. "It could definitely work" I tried to reason.

Again to my surprise, Ward came to my support. "Reyes is gonna kill us the moment we land, regardless, blaming it on the rebels. At least this way we have a fighting chance, I will take it. What's first?"

Well, one of us had to get free, deal with the soldier and then free the others. A situation that Natasha had well trained me for. "Wanna do the honours?" I asked, looking at May since I guess that the same thought passed our minds. "I would but my shoulder wouldn't help a lot with the climbing, now, would it?"

"What are you talking about?" Jemma said. "We are all tied to the cargo door, so unless we–" her sentence was cut short from a cracking sound.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Fitz was startled and his voice came out really high pitched, looking in our direction where the sound was generated from.

I heard Ward huff from the other end as he shook his head. "Her wrist"

From that moment on and until we had to actually go in the main room everything worked out perfectly. May took out the guy who was overmatching us, then broke inside the lab, from where Fitz used his D.W.A.R.F.s through the vents to activate the 0-8-4 which, based on FitzSimmons, would blast a ray of pure energy and create a hole to the plane for the doors to open.

Yup, as the scientist himself had said, "This is the moment we regret" and with the press of a button the door was unlocked as the cabin's pressure dropped. "We will take the soldiers, you guys secure the 0-8-4" Ward said and the two of us went to deal with the Peruvians in the main room while May headed to take back her cockpit.

Ward jumped over a sofa and attacked one guy as I rounded the same furniture to deal with another.

I landed a kick at his knee and made him drop in one leg, which was quickly followed by a push towards the sofa's cushions. I found the seatbelts that we strapped in during the take-off and wrapped them around both of the man's hands, securing him in place before punching him in the face and knocking him out. Enemy or not, we didn't want them flying off the giant hole in the side of the plane.

I heard a noise and looked up, only to see that Jemma had managed to get the 0-8-4 in her hands and was yelling at Fitz to pull her back. This was when a fourth member of the Peruvian Military appeared and moved towards FitzSimmons.

This was a wrong move buddy, no-one would touch them if I had anything to say about it.

I run up to him, _run_ being an understatement as it looked more like stumbling because of the plane's violent shaking, grabbed him from his collar and threw him on the ground. I was just about to knock him out when something flew in my face and blocked the view.

I took it, whatever that was, off my face and inspected it. It turned out that it was the Bus' pamphlet which gave me a great idea as to how to close the hole, at least temporarily.

Before I had the chance to do anything though, my legs were kicked out from underneath me and the man that I had previously thrown to the ground climbed on top of me, his hands making their way to my neck. I didn't have time for this, so I grabbed his wrists before his fingers wrapped around my respiratory path and I brought my knee hard on his balls. He produced a very pleasing high-pitched grunt as he fell on the side, doubling over. I stood up and kicked him in the head just for good measures as I started heading where the inflating life-boats were stored.

I released the boat which took form and glued itself on the hole in the wall, because of the atmospheres pressure, stopping Ward from flying off the plane.

After that everyone dropped on the floor as the wind stopped dancing like crazy.

"I read the safety pamphlet" I told Ward as I was helping him up.

He huffed at that, "You might be the first one"

We all gathered around the broken bar. "The 0-8-4 is stable and secure, but we need to reach the Slingshot as soon as possible" Fitz informed us as he took a sip from his S.H.I.E.L.D. water bottle.

"May's on the stick and I am sure we will get there in no time" Coulson said and then proceeded to look around. His eyes fell to the life boat stuck on the side of the Bus and he shook his head. "No other way in, huh? And I was starting to warm up to this place.

Just as Coulson had promised, it was less than a couple of hours when we reached the Slingshot. Reyes and the rest of her squad was taken by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that were sent to our location as soon as the HQ learned about what went down on the ride there.

I watched from the open cargo door as the men and women, with black bags in their heads, were led to unmarked vehicles which then parted, going a different direction each. I smiled and turned back to find Coulson looking over Lola and brushing off some dust off her trunk. "Not a scratch" he lifted his head and smiled at me.

"No, I didn't know what I would do if she had any" he replied looking down at his beauty.

"Well maybe not the car, but the plane's totalled. Think the director will pay for the repairs? From what I gathered you had this plane only for a few days before everything went to hell"

I smirked at him and just as he was about to reply people started heading down from the stairs, bringing commotion with them. I looked up and saw the rest of the team coming down. Jemma had a beer I her hand and Fitz was carrying a portable fridge which I was sure contained another handful of them. "We blew up a plane! Take that professor Ron!" The young scientist screamed as he followed Jemma to the, now half open, cargo door.

My heart warmed at the relaxed state that everyone was in as they took a seat, their legs hanging just above the ground. "How many of those did you have?"

Jemma just turned to look at me, laughing her heart out. She extended a beer bottle at me and patted the space next to her. "Sk-Skye, it's important to unwind from time to time" she said with her English accent being more apparent because of the drink she obviously already had.

"Yeah, yeah" Fitz was fast to agree. "Especially after a hard day with everyone almost dying"

I accepted the drink and took a long sip from it before Jemma continued. "Which doesn't happen every day, right? It's an anomaly — not the norm"

"Speaking of 'not the norm'" Coulson's voice stopped me before I sat next to my friend as I turned around to face him, catching up on the seriousness in his voice. "Whose idea was it to blow a hole in the plane?" He asked and looked at us.

I glanced around as everyone had gone quiet at the question. "May said that the doors were tied to the pressurisation, so I thought–" I started to explain only for Jemma to jump in.

"So _we_ thought, it was the one way to release them" she smiled up on me, before looking at the team leader.

"It was everyone's idea sir" Ward was fast to add at the same time Fitz provided a, "Yes, quite genius actually"

My gazed travelled back to Coulson whose serious demeanour broke and he nodded at us, clearly happy from our reply. "Nice work" he said and then moved to stand closer to the edge of the cargo hold and looked in the distance.

I felt a small tug on my trousers and looked down to see Jemma pocking at my leg, looking up at me. Her head nodded to the empty seat next to her and I didn't need words as I sat down next to her, beer in one hand as the other made its way around Jemma's shoulders, rubbing her bicep. Jemma's arm, in return, wrapped around my back as she laid her head on my shoulder.

 _All clear for liftoff"_ a voice was heard from speakers and from the corner of my eye I saw Fitz sit straighter.

"Oh, oh! Here we go!" He closed his nose, making his voice sound weird, "Launching in 3… 2…" and the rocket with the 0-8-4 lifted off the ground and started its trip to space, just as the sun was starting to rise. What a beautiful way to start the day. "The trajectory will take it beyond the Lagrange point so it doesn't hit the Herschel" Fitz inquired after a moment of silence.

I noticed Jemma stir on my shoulder and knew she was about to speak. "And there haven't been any coronal mass ejections, so it shouldn't lose telemetry" she said as if it was obvious.

"Guys. English" Ward said for the millionth time that day, but it sounded different this time. Not filled with the frustration that it had been the last handful of times.

As we watched the rocket fly off to the stars, my mind traveled back to the events of the day, that was how a thought was formed. "Fitz, I heard you say something about monkeys to Jemma while you were in Peru, right?"

He looked at me confused. "Yeah…?"

"Well, we cannot possible get a monkey on the bus, it would be a disaster" I said in a matter-of-fact way looking ahead to the horizon. The others turned to look at me as well, wondering what my endgame was (pun intended). "And we obviously can't get anything like a dog or something similar, but maybe a pet would be nice, wouldn't it? We would take turns to take care of it, it would be like a bonding session"

Jemma retreated from my shoulder, her brows knitted in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I mean, well, the Bus is basically getting fixed again so why not add something that will be ours?" I lifted my gaze to look at the others. "Like a fish tank?"

I could clearly see Fitz's eyes growing large just as everyone turned their attention to Coulson. He was practically sending mental waves of _"please, please, please'_ to him with the way that he was staring. The smile that grew on Coulson's face was all the answer that we needed and Fitz made a squealing noise. I was sure that Fitz would give me a bear hug for the thought later on when we were alone.

Our little bubble was interrupted by the sound of car tires as an unmarked vehicle parked a few meters ahead of us. And out of the vehicle the Director walked out, as if owning the place with his dark cape dancing from the slight breeze that filled the air.

We all stood up, looking as his figure closed in on us. The ramp we were sitting on suddenly lowered and we touched the ground. The beer that I was holding was now long forgotten on the metal floor and my hands were folded at my chest.

He looked at us, FitzSimmons averted their gaze but I stood my ground and his gaze lingered for a few more seconds on me before moving back at Coulson.

The two of them disappeared upstairs without exchanging as much as a word. The rest of us stayed down there hushed conversation happening mainly between the scientists and, to my surprise, between May and Ward. True, it was in a limited manner but there was still some conversation happening and May was actually talking.

Despite how much I wanted to laugh with Jemma, the mask in my face was unmoving. And I knew that Jemma was throwing sideway glances in my direction, but I couldn't be bothered by that right now. I could also feel May taking in the change in my demeanour as she examined my face.

Jemma broke off from where she was with Fitz and placed a hand on my back. "Are you okay?", she whispered. She knew me long enough to know better than to ask loudly and make a scene.

Without missing a beat from where the question was formed, the door at the top of the spiral staircase opened and Coulson came through. "Skye, the Director would like to have a word with you in my office"

Everyone's attention turned to me. I brushed Jemma's hand off me and walked upstairs without even the hint of a reassuring smile to her. I just passed by Coulson who was still looking at me and headed to the office. I didn't knock, just walked in, locked the door behind me as I did so.

"Skye" Fury was sitting on Coulson's office. "I got your message"

I stared at him, as I finally got the audience that I had requested. "Joseph"


	68. Time To Unfold Our Cards

**AN.1: Hey people! As always, many thank to _MegaDiary123_ for beta-ing this chapter. I hope you all enjoy. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

My eyes were stone cold as I stared him down, my expression looking similar to one famous assassin's glare. My jaw was clenched as silence spread in the room, the tension being so high that one could almost touch it. I felt it crawling all over my skin.

"'There are not a lot of people I trust, but you are one of them'" I quoted his words from two years ago when I asked my access to be diminished to that of a consultant because I was untrustworthy. "'I trust you and I am going to increase your Clearance Level to that of Hill's'. Wasn't that about what you said to me after I asked to speak with you in private? Or am I wrong?" I asked him, sarcasm dripping from my voice like venom. When the man did nothing more than continue breathing normally, I resumed. "Have you looked at a dictionary recently Joseph? Because I am pretty sure that the word _'trust'_ has a different meaning from the one you think it has"

"How did you find that name?" He asked instead of answering. It was so classical of him.

"Does it even matter? This is not what we are discussing here"

"It will be if you continue that" he countered. "No-one calls me that, not even my mother. And trust me when I tell you that you don't want to see me angry"

A dead smile formed on my lips. "I guess now there is someone who calls you that. And if me using that name makes my point come across better, I will use it plenty, _Joseph_ " I looked at him in the eyes, daring him to say something about it. I tilted my head to the side, my lips forming a firm line once more. "And trust is something I don't have when it comes to you. Because it is a double-edged sword, it works both ways. And the problem now is that I don't trust you anymore, not if the events of the last week have anything to do with it. And I am starting to think that I shouldn't have trusted you in the first place, given that you must have started working on bringing back Coulson right after he died and it's been moths, years since then" I straightened my neck again and took a step closer. "So trust _me_ when I tell you, you don't want to see me angry"

As he sat on the chair, he leaned forwards and linked his hands on the desk in front of him. "Now, if what Maria told me about your anger is all there is to it, I don't think I have something to be truly afraid of"

Always trying to have the upper hand. But for once in his life, he had no idea that the tables had turned. "With Hill I was upset. I still am to be honest, but after sleeping on it a couple of nights, I realized that all she did was follow orders, like she always did. Follow _your_ orders that is". I started pacing around the room following an invisible infinity-shaped path so that I never turned my back to him. "It will take her a few weeks in the least but I don't see why I should keep being upset with her for more than that, it was not her fault after all. It is you that I am angry with" I stopped right in front of him, my cold exterior never breaking as my voice had yet to rise. "Angry, not upset. I believe you are smart enough to know the difference"

He wouldn't give me the satisfaction of gulping despite knowing that if I had stared someone else, anyone else for that matter, in the same way I was piercing Fury's skull with my eyes, they would have been frightened. "You think I am in the position I am if I hadn't made people angry?" He challenged.

"I am sure you have" I answered. "But you had not made me angry and I have a lot of people to back me up if need be" I challenged back. Two people could play this game.

"Is that a threat?" He stood up, towering over me.

But his presence didn't feel intimidating in the least. "Damn right it is" I lifted my chin and didn't back down.

He slowly, and what I really mean is so slow that it took him a good solid ten seconds, sat back down and just as slowly reached inside his black, leather coat. A folder with capital, red letter saying "Level 9, Classified Document" appeared and was thrown on the desk in front of me.

"Is this another of your games?" I asked.

"It is not" he answered just as seriously, no hint of laughter whatsoever on his face or voice.

My fingers lingered at the corner of the folder and I brought it closer to me as I examined the cover. "Level 9, huh? Let me guess, this document was sealed from me despite my Clearance because I am an Avenger?" The silence was all that I needed to hear to verify my suspicion. "Trust he says" I whispered to myself, but was sure that Fury picked it up, I didn't really try to hide it in the first place. "So what is this?" I pointed at the documents in my hand.

"It is the truth" he said and then, followed with something that surprised me. "And a sign of good will". It was not the sentence that startled me as much as the tone, of his voice which had lost some of its professional vibe and was, even if a little, soft. As if caring.

I scoffed, masking my surprise. "We both know that you owe me at least that much"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "I don't owe you anything Skye" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't owe anyone anything. What I do, I do because I simply want to"

"Fine" I exclaimed. "Let's just assume that this is a sign of good will, alright? And, what? You think that this is enough to make me loyal to you again?"

His sudden laugh filled the room. "Loyal? You talk to me about loyalty? You would have dismissed my orders the moment you thought that you put someone you care about in danger" he sobered himself. "Let's not kid ourselves, shall we? You were never loyal to me"

"You are right" I said as I stood up, folder in my hand. "You want me to lay my cards out, here they are. I was never loyal to you and I will never be. I cannot when you decide on actions that I am against, and when you keep secrets like those. Who I am loyal to are my friends and family because loyalty is blind. And with you I have to have both my eyes open. I made the mistake to forget that after New York, so I have to thank you for the reminder" I smiled kindly at him. "What I had for you was respect and I told you that before. But that respect was destroyed the moment I found out, _by myself_ , that Coulson was alive. You had 24 months to come clean and you did not, not even about something that I was so intimately related to. When it was related to someone from my family, because Coulson? He was like a father to me, and now? Now, he has absolutely no fucking idea who I am. I am a stranger to him" it was my turn to lift an eyebrow to him. "Want to tell me how that happened or will I have to read about it?" I asked lifting the folder and dropping it hard on the desk in front of him"

Our eyes met in a wordless war as silence stretched. Fury's words were what broke that quiet. "You want the whole story or the short version?"

I contemplated my options carefully before decided. "Short for now. We don't want the others waiting for too long and start asking questions now, do we? I will read the reports on my own, but a heads up as to what I am gonna have to digest would be lovely"

I sat down on one chair facing the office, as I had a feeling that I didn't want to be standing with what I was about to hear.

Fury took a deep breath before starting his explanation. "This is the 'Terrestrialised Alien Host Integrative Tissue I.' Project, aka Project T.A.H.I.T.I. At the beginning it was overseen by Coulson, who eventually resigned from the Project deeming that it did not fit with his good conscience. The purpose of it was to bring back an Avenger if they died. I could get into great details as to how we were trying to do that, but that would be the long road. After Coulson died in the Helicarrier, it was like I lost my one good eye" he actually took a shuddering breath at that. My eyes averted from his in the memory of what I had done, but was quick to look back at him. Once he was sure that my attention was still on him he continued.

"He might not have been an Avenger, but he was one of my best agents and dear friends and I would be damned if I didn't try everything in my power to bring him back. We had found a drug which could regenerate cellular tissue, but at the same time it implanted fragments of cellular memory of where the serum was coming from, its host" he tried to explain as best as he could. I could tell that he was skipping some key parts of the story, like what the serum was, but I guess I would have to read about it later one.

"This memory you are talking about" I spoke after his long pause. "Does it have anything to do with him not remembering me?" I asked and couldn't help it as my voice broke a little bit at the end.

He waited for me to recompose myself. Despite all the lies that he had told, deep down he was still the same pirate that I knew. The one with the hard exterior but the more fluffy-like interior which not many people got to see. It had been a while since I witnessed that side of him and it made my anger tune down. A tiny bit.

"The initial participants, after receiving the serum, would start showing signs of insanity. We found that by using the Memory Overwriting Machine we could… scrub their brains and make them forget the whole procedure, thus never showing any deterioration in their mental state" he put it as simple as he could.

I nodded as I took in the information. My brows furrowed at a thought. "How would you make sure that it worked though? That his 'mental state', as you put it, remained sane if he was leading a team all over the world and away from you?" I saw something flash in his eyes and then something in my brain just clicked. Because this was _so_ something that Fury would do. "You have a person on the inside. You put someone to make sure that he didn't wonder off" my eyes casted downwards as my brain worked to find who the person was. "It cannot be FitzSimmons, Jemma is a terrible liar and even if Fitz could pull it off with the rest of the team, he wouldn't possibly be able to do the same with Jemma. Ward is…" my head titled to the side, thinking of everything I knew of him from both my past interactions with him as well as the new ones. "Well, he is Ward. He was so against joining this team that even if he is a good agent his distaste for the way Coulson works and the whole 'team' thing is too much for him to fake non-stop. So the only person left is May" I lifted my gaze and met his, my theories coming to fruiting when I took in his expression. "That's right! Who better than to keep an eye on him than her? They were always so close" I said with a real smile making its way on my face.

"Well" my happy memories where shattered when he spoke again. "This was a long time ago and people have changed since you last saw them, but yeah. It's May" he confirmed.

This struck me as something weird, him mentioning people changing since he couldn't possibly be talking about Coulson and May had indeed changed a lot since the last time I had seen her. So this must mean that it was something that happened and probably was something related to the 'Calvary'.

But this was not what was important right now. There was still something missing. "Hold on" I said and actually lifted my palm in emphasis. "Let's go back a little, before May" I let my hand fall as I looked back at him. "You explained why you had to erase his memories from the procedure, but that doesn't explain why his memories of me are gone too" I cut to the chase. "What are you not telling me?" I asked, my tone dropping as my cold exterior took back its place.

He caught the change in my voice as he straightened his back and took in a deep breath, probably preparing himself for what he was about to tell me.

"He would have looked for you"

My breath was caught in my throat when he finished.

I felt the world stop around me as realisation of what he was saying kicked in.

I stood abruptly up, the chair toppling over behind me. "Tell me this is a joke" I told him.

He shook his head. "It was easy to convince him not to tell the rest of the Avengers" his eyes followed my form as I paced up and down in the small office, as I felt the walls closing in. "Even with Natasha and Clint" he continued.

"No" was the only word I seemed to be able to form.

"He wouldn't stand to not tell you, not when you were the one who killed him and he would know how guilty you would feel" He slowly stood up. "How you would blame yourself"

"Sit down" I told him, my voice so quiet that he might as well not have heard it at all.

"He would have looked for you the moment he was well enough to walk" he emphasised.

" _Sit down_ " I repeated a bit louder, feeling a buzzing under my skin. A sensation I hadn't felt in a long time, especially after managing to control my powers.

But of course he did no such thing. "If he remembered, then everything would be for nothing. He would come to you and you, in the state you were in wouldn't have been able to keep the secret from the others. It was the only way–"

" _Sit down!_ " I yelled at him and my hand flew in his direction, sending a shockwave that was pressing down his chest and was pushing him down on the chair.

My extended arm was trembling, and not from the vibrations leaving my palm, as I looked down. My other hand was pointed at the floor, absorbing the vibrations that the quake, which kept Fury at his place, was producing so that the plane we were in and the area around it didn't start shaking.

"And to think that you had the nerve to talk to me about loyalty" I said as I lifted my head to meet his gaze. "You had the nerve to talk to me about _trust_ " I continued as I started walking towards him. "How dare you?" I finished as I reached him, still keeping him pinned down. My palm landed on his chest, making him unable to move as his very bones were shaking.

"Coulson would have come to me and you would have asked me to keep your secret. Would I have done it? How can I know if I never got the chance? And how is this different from the situation that I am in, right now?" I sat on the desk and looked at him as his gaze never wavered from mine. He was trying to not show his fear, and almost succeeding, but I was too close to not see it hidden deep in his eyes. "I know what happened but I can't tell anyone even if I wanted to, and I want to so badly" I resumed, shaking my head as a smile made its way on my lips. "But despite all that, here I still am. Keeping your little, stupid secrets. And you might ask why?", a giggle escaped at that.

"Because how can I stand the look at their faces when they realise that their mentor doesn't remember their sister? How do I explain that to them without them marching down to your office livid? And despite you being you, I doubt you would last more than a round against the Avengers. And despite how much I hate you right now, I don't want to see you dead"

With that I pulled away, my vibrations stopping immediately at my command and I took the folder back in my hands. "You march around playing with people's lives as if they are the puppets and you the puppet-master. Let me tell you that whatever you do has consequences that affect you as well. And now you've lost me. And I am not sure whether you can win me back but even if you do, it's going to be a crazy mountain for you to climb"

I moved towards the door when he called my name. "We still have to talk with agent Simmons and May about what they know and what they can share"

My back was still at him and my hand at the door handle as I replied, "You don't need me here, they can fill me in later. We are done here" there was a finality in my tone which made Fury add quickly.

"It was the only way to bring Phil back, Skye. It was the only way to make sure his secret stayed safe"

"That's where you are wrong" I looked over my shoulder, my hand now pressing down in the handle ready to open the door with a single pull. "You brought Coulson back. Phil died the day I killed him" I left the door hanging open behind me.

* * *

 **AN.2: Again, hey guys. I know this chapter is long overdue. Sorry for disappearing without any explanation and leaving you with tat cliffhanger. Stuff happened and I couldn't, or was not in the right mindset to, write. But I'm now back on track and you should get weekly updates unless something else happens, but I'll try to let you know if something like that occurs. See you all next week :**


	69. Keeping The Nightmares Away

**AN: Have a great weekend everyone! Many thanks to my Beta _MegaDiary123_. And a warm welcome to all the new readers. And to both old and new, thank you guys so much for helping us reaching 200 followers and 150 ****favourites. You are all amazing and this story wouldn't be possible without you. Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy.**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I could tell that Jemma was looking for me and that she knew that I was avoiding her. She would ask questions or even talk to me about what she discussed with the Pirate and it was definitely something that I didn't want to deal with at the moment. I was sitting in a really nice and dark corridor somewhere in the Bus. My phone's flashlight being the only source of light as I went through the file that Fury gave me hours ago. Going over it for the fourth time that was. I was sure that by then I had memorised every single name, location and equipment used in bringing Coulson back.

I would make my own research on this whole situation. I had to make sure that the intel that I got from him was indeed the real deal and that he wasn't messing around again. And no matter how I wished that this was the truth and nothing but the truth, I couldn't trust him anymore.

My flashlight turned off and on really quickly, singling that I got a new message. I turned the device's screen so that it faced me and saw another one of Jemma's texts.

 _\- Come on Skye, it's been hours. I'm worried, I can't find you anywhere. At least let me know if you are okay_

I sighed. Of course she was worried. It was Jemma we were talking about after all.

 _\- I am fine, just need some time to think about what I discussed with the Pirate_

 _\- I talked with him as well, and we need to talk. Please,_ came her quick reply in a try to start conversation or even make me guilty enough to face her.

 _\- Tomorrow_ , I typed back and then turned off the notifications from her messages.

I knew that if I had kept them on they would still buzz every ten minutes or so, since I didn't believe in the slightest that she would stop bothering me until I either made an appearance or actually talked with her.

My hands made their way to my eyes and rubbed them, as they started to hurt. It could have been because of the amount of time that I spend going through the files in my hands, or the fact that I was in a really dark corridor and I had to strain my eyes to actually make out the letters because of the limited lighting. But either way, fatigue was starting to catch up. Especially given that the previous night I didn't have much sleep because of the mission. The only time I actually rested was when I was knocked unconscious.

I focused on my vibrations and checked that all the workers had left the plane. The repairs were all finished before the sun even set. It was one of the privileges of working for a huge organisation such as this one.

I contemplated sleeping where I was, in my own solitude, but there were some thoughts holding me back from executing this idea. First, I had to check in with Coulson, or at least have him see me upstairs so that I wouldn't raise any suspicions. And also, sleeping in the metal floor didn't sound so appealing comparing to the bed that I had in my bunk.

So I packed everything, and with that I mean I closed the file and my flashlight, letting the mind-map that I had of the Bus be my guide to where I would soon sleep. Of course, using the mind-map helped me avoid unwanted interactions as I would take another root in order to not bump into any of the other members of the team. And it worked out, at least until I reached my bunk outside of which stood the one and only biochemist who seemed more tired than I was. She was not used to this lack of sleep after all, being mostly in the lab had its advantages.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been standing here waiting for you?" She asked as she unfolded her hands from her chest.

I took a deep breath and stared at her. I loved that girl, I really did, but she had no idea what personal space is. She used to know, back at the beginning of the Academy, but ever since our friendship grew she seemed to have completely forgotten about this specific concept. "I told you not to wait for me" I said as I moved closer to unlock the door.

She moved aside, allowing me access to do what I wanted to and with a smooth sound the door was open. "I would have waited for you until you came back, I knew that. But if you could at least have your door unlocked I could have been sitting on your bed waiting instead of this" she pointed at herself standing up.

I rolled my eyes and went into the bunk, the T.A.H.I.T.I. folder safely put on the side as I laid down on my bed. "I keep the door locked for a reason, Jemma" exacerbation started leaking into my voice.

There was a stretch of a few seconds in which she said nothing, just remained still. "Fine" she exclaimed out of the blue and made a move towards the door.

Not that she had to move a lot, the space was so tiny that she was there in only a step. And just as I hoped that she would leave me alone, _nope_. Why would she do that? Instead she closed the door and then with another step and a half she came and sat at the legs of my bed, pushing my own legs to make space for her. I lifted my eyes to look at her, silently asking her _"Seriously?"_ , and the look that she shot me was her saying, _"Yes, seriously"_ and all I could do was let out a heavy breath that I didn't know I was holding. My night just became so much longer than I anticipated.

"Look" I started, hoping to maybe keep this as short as possible. "I am tired and I am in no mood whatsoever to talk about a certain someone or what he might have told you, okay? All I ask is that we talk about this after I've gotten some sleep". I blamed the one-eyed man for my lack of patience at the moment.

I took a deep, even almost staggering breath, and brought my hand to cover my eyes. It had not been the most emotionally stable day for me and it was becoming harder and harder to keep this conversation in the down-low.

I felt Jemma's hand on my free hand. "Skye" she said softly, with a tenderness that I was not expecting. But I still didn't remove my palm from my eyes. "I am not here to talk about what the Director and I talked about. Though it is something we will have to get around to, it is not as important. My priority is to make sure you are okay" she put more pressure in her grip and I found myself mimicking her movement, my fingers wrapping around hers. "I am genuinely worried. It was like you were a different person when he appeared and then you disappeared and no matter how hard I looked for you, you were nowhere to be found" I could hear the concern leaking from her voice and spreading across the room.

My left hand still obscured my vision but my right's grip to the girl, who I knew for so many years, was like an anchor keeping me from having my thoughts spiralling. "I'm sorry" I whispered. "I'm sorry I worried you"

"Hey" she spoke and I could hear a laughing undertone, trying to lighten up the mood. "I'm always worried about you, you know that. It's not something I can turn off" she even let a slight giggle escape her lips in this try. Which worked and had the corners of my lips turning slightly upwards. "Ah, there we go" she continued as she clearly saw my small smile. "Are you feeling any better?" She tried.

I scoffed at that, giggling at the same time. "No, not really" I confessed.

"Would you like to talk about it?", she asked without missing a beat.

I thought about it but knew that I wasn't going to. Even if I could, where would I start? It would take us at least a day to explain everything. "Can't" I ended up saying. "Classified"

As my whisper dispersed across the room and silence once again took its place I could tell that Jemma was trying to find a solution. "Is there something I can do to help?", she clearly came up short and decided to ask again.

"Could you–?" I started asking before I even managed to process what I was saying and then stopped myself before forming any other words. I grunted at me being so reckless. "Forget it" I concluded and made a move to take my hand off her grip only for it to grow stronger.

"Hey, stop it. None of that, you hear me?" She scolded me and I could feel her move in her seat so as to face me. "Now, what were you going to say?" She asked kindly and only then did I uncover my eyes to look at her.

I took a deep breath and figured that she would understand if I was lying to her, so what was the point? "Could you stay here tonight?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to understand what I was saying. "You mean sleep here?"

"Yes" I let out and waited for her reply. When the seconds ticked by and she had yet to speak, while her brows were still tightly knitted, I hurried to explain. "You don't have to!" I spoke as loudly as I could so that even if people passed by the bunk they wouldn't be able to hear us. "I just get nightmares from time to time, because of a mission from a while back. And the Pirate was involved there and seeing him again today… and I think that it will be one of those nights. And I think that if you stayed here, knowing that you are here, might help. And this is so stupid, of course you don't want to, just forget I said anything. Yeah, yeah, let's just forget this. I will be fine". I hadn't realised that I had moved my gaze and that I was staring at the ceiling as I rambled nor that I had moved my hand from Jemma's grip and my fingers were playing with the edge of my t-shirt.

"Skye" Jemma's voice broke through my haze but I still didn't move my eyes to her direction. "Look at me" she gently said and I complied. I felt like drowning at those hazelnut-coloured eyes. "I would love to" her smile was as genuine as it could get which made a small one appear on my face. "Now" she continued, "scoot over because this bed is too small for the both of us to be on our backs"

I did as I was told and turned so that I was facing the wall as she laid on her side on my back. "Thank you Jemma" I said and I could already feel myself staring to relax at her presence.

Her arm wrapped around my waist protectively. "Sweet dreams" she whispered in my ear. My muscles were still pretty tense from my emotions going wild that day and she noticed. Of course she did. "You're okay, Skye. Don't worry, I've got you. I'll keep the nightmares from reaching you. You're safe".

Needless to say, exhaustion caught up with me and I relaxed further in her embrace as I drifted off.


	70. In The Know

**AN: Hello amazing people. Starting, many thanks to _MegaDiary123._** **Now, I am really glad to post this chapter, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next week...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I let out a breath as I pried my eyes open. I could tell that I was still somewhat exhausted, but old habits seemed to die hard as I looked at my clock which indicated it was just after 4:00 am. From the light snoring coming from behind me I knew that Jemma was still out cold and would be for a few more hours in the least. She deserved it, we all did, but since she was actually able to see it through I didn't intend to interrupt her dreams.

I slowly took Jemma's hand off my waist and laid it back on the bed as I stood up. I was stealthy enough not to bother the sleeping girl, but I had a feeling that even if the whole plane started shaking she would still be clueless about it and keep on sleeping. Placing the blanket back safely over her form and kissing her on the forehead, I made my exit after putting on some more loose clothes. I knew that everything of value and classification was safely locked and even if Jemma looked around the room she wouldn't find anything she shouldn't have. I trusted her, I really did. There were just some things that she didn't know and it would be for the best if it remained that way.

I made my way to the cockpit, where there was enough space for me to do what I wanted to. I saw the training mats on the side but decided against laying them on the hard, metal floor. There would be no sparing after all.

Taking a deep breath I centred myself and started making my way through the various Tai Chi forms. The nightmares had indeed stayed away the previous night, allowing me a clarity which I was craving for a few days now. A peacefulness and calmness which I was sure would not last for long, so I decided to treasure it while I could. While my thoughts ran and my, previous' days, frustration melted away I found myself in the presence of another.

I didn't need my vibrations to tell me that she was there, up in the spiral staircase looking down. Years of training with her and with my siblings were enough to allow me to pick up the slightest movement around me. If I was in the right mindset that was…

"Care to join me?" I asked May without stopping.

As it was her trademark since we met I expected her to walk away but was glad to see that my assumption was wrong. In tight leggings and a similar, sleeveless t-shirt she came and stood next to me, joining in as if she was there from the beginning.

Her movements were just as fluid and graceful as I remembered them. Still a bit more so than mine, especially since living in a van, undercover for months didn't really allow me to keep up with this habit, despite waking up really early every day.

The comfortable silence that filled the room was something that I didn't want nor intended to break. It was a kind of silence that lacked from every other interaction I had with the woman so far. I could feel the minutes ticking by as my mind-map picked up some other activity across the plane which matched Coulson's and Ward's steps. The former making his way to his office, while the latter opened the door to the cockpit, saw the two of us and then proceeded walking off after we both ignored his intense stare.

"You are tense" May's low tone brought me back to our exercises as we were slowly coming to an end.

"I am alert, there is a difference" I told her just as calmly, focusing more at my form.

"I know the difference. _I_ am alert and as I said, _you_ are tense" she finished as she came to her neutral stance and inhaled deeply. I mimicked her movements and finished my morning routine as well. I could see her looking at me and so I turned my attention to her, my body facing hers. "You've improved".

"Thank you" came my reply after my initial shock had passed. For some reason, I had a feeling that her praising anyone was not something happening as often as it used to in the past. "I would love to spar with you at some point. Since we don't have any missions yet and I haven't had anyone challenging enough fighting me, I don't want to lose my form" I continued, hoping that she would accept.

She remained quiet for a few seconds before replying. "How's the shoulder feeling?", she nodded towards the bod part which was in a sling yesterday.

"Almost as good as new" I said honestly. She would have seen right through my lie if I had not answered genuinely. "Could use another day before any heavy workouts"

"Good" she was clearly satisfied by what she heard. "Tomorrow then" and it sounded somewhat like a command, though I couldn't figure out why there was a need for such a tone to be used. "We have more pressing matters at hand" she continued with the same tone, which had me looking at her confused before realisation hit me. "Cockpit, 10 minutes. I believe that's enough time for you to freshen yourself" and with that she walked off.

When she disappeared on the upper floor a giggle found its way to my lips. _Well, isn't this interesting?_ I thought. Her giving an order and then pulling a disappearing act before I got the chance to even reply was such a 'Maria Hill 2005' move from when I was in the Academy. I shook my head, smile still on my face as I made my way to the bunk I called 'home' these days.

Jemma was still sleeping in my bed, her legs having kicked the blanket off her body. I laughed internally at the sight, I hadn't seen her like that since the last time we shared a room which was before I left for my mission with Clint, before everything went downhill. It was so innocent and normal that people would undermine its value. Normal was what I would try to protect no matter what.

The girl stirred at her sleep and cracked on eye open, looking around the room trying to find me. "Get back to sleep" I gently said so as not to startle her.

"What time is it?", her voice was rough from her heavy sleep, cracking in some words.

"Just past 06:30. You still have at least a couple of hours to lay in before we are asked to do anything. I doubt Coulson would have you and Fitz rise earlier after yesterday's events" I swiftly changed clothes with my back turned to her. Being roommates for so many years had made any sort of awkwardness, regarding changing in front of her, fly off the window. "I have to meet May, see you later" I continued but as I turned around to look at her, her eyes were already closed and her breathing evened out. I shook my head at that and left the bunk. The door locked on its own when I closed it, and only someone from the inside could open it unless they knew how to unlock it.

As I walked towards the cockpit I passed by the kitchen that the Bus was equipped with, because _of course_ it had a kitchen. How else were we supposed to feed ourselves while staying in the Airborne Mobile Command Station. _Mobile_ being a key work. I waved at Ward who was sitting alone eating a bowl of cereal.

"'Morning" he said even if a little hesitant. It might have been small, but it was something.

Without giving him a second look I moved towards Coulson's office to greet him as well. I walked in as soon as my knocking his door was acknowledged. "Just wanted to say good morning" I said, peeking my head through the door.

"Good morning to you too" he replied happily. "I saw you had already had a morning session with May". At my titling of the head he clarified, "CCTV".

"Right" I replied with a slow nod. I had momentarily forgotten about the cameras, a useful information to have in the back of my mind constantly. "Speaking of which, I need to head to the cockpit. I have a feeling she will have my head if I am late, see you later" I resumed in a hurry, closing the door and leaving him with a surprised expression plastered on his face.

Just like the last time that I went to the specific room per May's request, I locked the door as I walked in and went to sit on the shotgun seat. I was guessing that the cockpit was a place either free from the cameras that the rest of the Bus was equipped with, or that May had turned them off for privacy reasons. She was not stupid enough to have a camera over her head 24/7 and if the past was any indication, Coulson trusted her so much that having no cameras there would not be a security problem.

"I am guessing that this is about what you and our esteemed Director talked about?" I didn't beat around the bush. The slight nod that I got in reply was enough of an encouragement for the edges of my lips to form a small smile. I was expecting silence if I were being honest and even this small movement was a great step forward in my mind. "I am, also, guessing he told you to brief me in or something similar?" I continued with newfound courage.

"He told me he briefed you in on the situation himself but I was to tell you my part in the story" her eyes pointed at one of the panels behind us. "There is a direct and secure line to Director Fury himself, from where I give him weekly reports on Phil's status. He wanted to make sure that him dying for 8 seconds, plus the whole experience with the Avengers, didn't affect him mentally" she concluded.

Of course this was what the Pirate told her. I slowly nodded, thinking what to say next. "You asked him why he doesn't remember me" I said. It was not a question, since I knew that May wouldn't hesitate to ask.

"Among other things" she confirmed. "He said it was classified and it was up to you to explain it" Of course he did. "I also asked when you came back and why I wasn't aware of that situation" she turned her head to my direction so our eyes met. "Guess what he said"

I scoffed at that. "It is up to me to tell you"

"Yeah. As well as to answer the questions I asked you the last time you came up here. You can answer anything you want really or nothing at all, he just told me to report back to him so that he knows we are on the same page".

She might have said that I could not answer her if I wanted to, but her tone was clear enough that she wanted to know what was going on. It was a trait of her character that, despite the years when I hadn't seen her, hadn't changed. She liked to be on top of things instead of being in the dark. And it might, or might not, have been because of that trait of hers that my own quest for the truth started. I also knew that I missed May. Be that the old May or the new one, I didn't care really. And if me telling her the truth was a step that would help patch up our relationship, I was willing to take that step. And the fact that there would be another person knowing the truth about me in the Bus, who I could confine to, was a plus.

Even without knowing what had happened in those years we were apart, I knew one thing for certain. I trusted her more that Fury at the moment and I knew she could keep a secret.

My gaze turned to the front, looking out of the glass windows and into the horizon of the slingshot, were not so many hours ago the 0-8-4 was sent flying to space. "I am guessing the microphones of the room are turned off?" I asked.

"Of course" she said matter-of-factly.

"What I am about to tell you is only cleared for Level 10 agents, people who were direct participants of this Initiative or agents cleared by Director Fury himself".

"But only Director Fury and the Secretary are Level 10" she said with disbelief in her voice.

"Exactly" I replied. "So you understand that whatever you hear from now on is extremely classified and must not leave this room or be repeated to anyone. I am going to trust you with this, so you better not break that trust" I closed my eyes and thought of the best way to tackle this whole situation, where to start.

"There are six people aboard this aircraft" I said and I could almost hear the scoff from my left. "The two of us are here, Coulson is in his office. Ward finished his breakfast and is currently taking out his frustrations about me right outside the lab, where he put up a punching bag. Simmons is heavily asleep and though Fitz is still laying on his bed, he is awake, just not bothering to get up". Despite the calm mask I was sure she was wearing, without even looking at her, I could feel her heart rate picking up slightly as I continued to speak. "Oh, scratch that. Fitz decided to go to the kitchen. He just passed Jemma's bunk and was surprised to find it empty and I am sure he will soon go and look for her down in the lab. Yup, just did that"

"What are you talking about?" May asked, hesitation in her voice. "How do you–?"

"Know all this?" I interrupted her, my head titled to the side so I was looking at her. "I am sure if you check the camera feeds that you have installed, which I guess only you and Fury know, you will find out that what I am saying is true" I pointed at one of the panels next to her, were something similar to a screen was installed, tacked away. I couldn't see exactly what it was from my mind-map, but I hoped that it was indeed what I thought it was.

She slowly put her code in the cabinet and took the piece of technology I was referring to, which turned out to be exactly what I thought it was and saw that all my words were true.

Even though she was still looking at the screen, realising that everything I said was true. "Oh, the camera you had in my bunk won't work by the way. I dismantled it before I left after we landed in New York" I let her know. "That's why you won't find Jemma in her room, she is in mine".

She side looked at me, as if asking what that was about, but didn't form any words. The look was enough to transfer her thoughts to me.

"Back to our topic" I said as I looked back to the landscape in front of us. "Remember the mission we were together? The one where we were captured and interrogated?" I asked her. She nodded, and my eyebrows knitted together. Not because of the nod but from the slight jump her heart made, which didn't appear on her face, the practised mask never breaking. And I am sure that the memory of it might have been enough to maybe upset her a little bit, but after the second and third jump her heart made I knew that there was something there that I didn't know. "May…" I said her name slowly and purposefully. "What are you not telling me?"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "What are you talking about?", she fainted to be clueless but my lie-detector told me otherwise.

"There is something about this mission you are hiding from me. I can tell. Now, what is it?" I asked and I used a tone that left no room for anything but the truth.

I could tell I caught her by surprise when I used the tone that she used on me so many times in the past and that stunned her speechless for a couple of seconds before recomposing herself. "The mission was a cover-up. It was supposed to be your test before you were assigned an S.O., Maria. It got out of hand, it was not supposed to be so brutal. But still you passed, we both did"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. It was so S.H.I.E.L.D.-style for something like that to happen. Like a very over-the-top training exercise. "Of course it was" I shook my head and pushed my thoughts on the matter aside. "Remember what happened at the end of this test?"

"There was an earthquake, the whole building came down and then you left" she replied. "Come on, Skye, you know this already, what's the point you are trying to make?"

"I never had you for the impatient type May, we are getting there. It's more complicated than you think" I told her as she stared daggers at me. The whole sight making me extremely happy as the roles were finally reversed between the two of us. "I came to a realisation after this mission, which was why I ran. I didn't want to endanger any of you, or myself for that matter. I didn't feel safe in S.H.I.E.L.D." I made sure she was still following me, though I knew she wanted to ask more questions, she restrained herself to letting me finish my explanation first. "Now, what do you know about the Battle of New York?"

"Everything there is about it, really. I am Level 7 after all" she said confidently.

I smirked at her confidence. One thing she should know was that you never knew the whole story of anything, not when Fury was involved in any way. "Sure you do" escaped my lips before I even thought about it and her gaze made me retract it. "Okay, okay, sorry. What I mean is, what do you know about the Avengers?"

"What do you man?", she questioned.

"Exactly what I asked"

She looked at me questionably but resumed her reply nonetheless. "I know who they are, at least their code names but not their current location or their real identities. Well, apart from Stark, about whom everyone knows and Clint and Natasha because… well, because it's Clint and Natasha"

"Name them" I all but commanded.

"Skye–" her tone and look was as if I had grown a second head or I had gone crazy.

"Name. Them" I repeated myself with more intensity in every word. "Code names" I explained.

"Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, Quake, Hulk, Thor" she let out a sigh. "Happy now?" She asked extremely irritated. "What does this have to do with anything?" Her normal whispery tone has risen to a normal one, indicating her frustration even more.

"Everything" I kindly smiled at her, like a mother would do to a child. "It has everything to do with it. During that mission back in 2005, it was not an earthquake that destroyed the building. Well…" I thought about it, "…it was an earthquake, only not a natural one. I left because I could feel something inside me that was begging to be let loose. And I had no control over it, so I was a threat to both you and myself and I decided it was better to leave. Living a quiet and remote life, off the radar. That was until I couldn't stay behind the curtains anymore, not when someone I care about was in danger and that was how S.H.I.E.L.D. found me and trained me, in secret.

"I am sure you tried to look for my files after you saw me again. After Union Station and while I was away you had enough time to do your digging and you came up empty, because no files exist that are linked to me. My name isn't in any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers and there is no record of my training or abilities. I used to be in the Index, but after New York even those files were destroyed". May made a motion to speak but I lifted my hand and stopped her before she phrased anything. "When Fury found me again, I was not the same person you knew. Not in the sense that my experiences had changed me, but in the sense that I was _different_. Different as in _with powers_ different. Powers enough that got me enlisted to the Avengers Initiative, a project which started in 1995 and was shut down in 2012 after the famous Battle of the same year"

When I referred to my powers I could tell that she grew more anxious for some reason, as if her breathing had just grown a bit shallower, quicker, even if only slightly. "My powers are what allow me to know where everyone is on this aircraft, what allows me to know that you are growing more and more uncomfortable with this conversation, what allowed me to bring this building on our heads all those years ago". I extended my hand, facing the ceiling. "Give me your hand" I saw her staring at my open palm, hesitant to touch me. "May" I spoke quietly and her eyes met mine, a hard gaze meeting a soft and understanding one. "I promise I won't hurt you". Though she was wearing her normal nonchalant mask, I could still see the traces of fears that were hiding underneath. "Do you trust me?" With that she slowly placed her hand into mine and I squeezed, ever so slightly, glad for that outcome.

I let a small vibration travel through our link into her fingers, then hand and eventually only up to her elbow. Nothing too fancy or too extreme, only a small amount enough to demonstrate but not scare her away.

"I have the ability to manipulate frequencies" I told her as she stared at our holding hands. "Frequencies big enough to bring whole buildings to the ground, or small enough to make an invisible-like shield that would make a bullet bounce off my shoulder instead of piercing right through it". Her fingers, that were still laying lazily in my grasp, clutched mine a bit firmer giving me more strength than I would like to admit. "My code name, is Quake"


	71. The Asset

**AN: Here we start with the 3rd episode from the series. Thank you _MegaDiary123_ for putting up with me all this time. Hope you all enjoy, until next time...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

May might have told me that we would have a sparring session, but I couldn't blame her for postponing it after the bombshell that I threw at her after revealing my powers. I could tell that she was not all too comfortable with the thought of me having powers, but she didn't say anything about it other than to give her a few days to digest everything.

She was also informed that Jemma knew about my powers, as well as my Avengers status. What we did not discuss at all was the reason why Coulson didn't remember me, or anything else relating to what happened during or before the Battle of New York. Mainly about me being under Loki's control and what happened during that time. I never mentioned that Clint was training me, but given that both he and Nat were Avengers as well, it was a given that they knew about my return to the organisation and that they hadn't let her know. I tried explaining that when I was brought in the whole situation was pretty covered up and kept in secret, but it was clear as day that she was still a bit hurt that my siblings hadn't even suggested the idea of me being back.

So, without May to train with, and with us flying all over the US for some small missions here and there, I found myself with more time than I knew what to do with. As always, I kept messaging Natasha, Clint and Pepper, letting them know that I was okay and asking about how they were. Natasha was, once again, on a mission with Rogers. Clint on the other hand had taken some time off to work on a present he was preparing for Nat, and was at Missouri building up a homestead for the two of them to be able to go to and relax. Apart from Maria and Fury, from whom he had to get the okay, I was the only other person that Clint included in this little secret of his. This was the only secret I was more than happy to keep.

Back in the airplane, we were flying somewhere over Massachusetts when at lunch Ward decided to ask me if I wanted to spar with him. I had caught him checking me out when I was doing some strength training, putting more emphasis than I would normally do in my right shoulder, to bring it back to normal.

A smile appeared on my face at the request and he knew that my answer was a positive one. I didn't think that he expected anything less from me, I never backed down from a challenge after all. And this was a challenge alright.

It wasn't even a couple of hours later when we were both at the cargo hold, matts laid on the floor as we both put on some MMA gloves on.

We both stood across one another, our hands raised to protect our faces. I relaxed my shoulders, letting the tense muscles loosen up. I hadn't had a proper sparring with anyone in quite some time and this would be a nice test to my shoulder as well. From the corner of my eye I could see Jemma looking at us while working on her own work with Fitz, as if ready to step in if I was hurt.

My thoughts were brought back to Ward when he finally made the first move and we stopped circling each other. He made a punch towards my face which I easily deflected and in return kicked towards his torso. He dodged my leg before it made contact, and then his eyes continued scanning me for any sign of weakness. "Come on Ward, give me your best" I teased him on purpose. It seemed to do the trick as in the next moment he came at me with a jab-cross combination followed by left hook and a roundhouse kick.

After ducking under the hook, I let his kick find its target, but instead of letting it hit me full-force, I absorbed the power behind the kick by rolling on my back. My hands wrapped around his ankle and as I rolled I twisted his leg, letting the momentum do the rest. He bent his captured leg, falling on the knee and, using the momentum to _his_ advantage, he brought his elbow towards my face, making me release his ankle to protect my face. He had grown a lot more agile since the last time we fought, not using only his height and strength to overpower his enemies.

After a while we found ourselves going back and forth in a continuous manner, exchanging blows. I landed more than I received, still better at dodging than he was and as always, I could see him get impatient. This seemed to be a trait that his S.O. hadn't managed to get rid off.

Using that, I stopped attacking as much as dodging until one of his right jabs was a bit more sloppy than the rest and I found an opening. As the punch headed towards my face, I ducked under his arm and behind his back, where I swiftly kicked the back of his knee. Before he even fell to the ground my right elbow wrapped around his neck and forced him to the ground, as he was completely off balance. He didn't even have time to realise what was happening before his back was on the mat, breaking his fall. My right hand was on his neck and my left one raised as if to punch, but I didn't finish the movement.

He raised his hands in surrender and I release my grip on his throat, standing up and offering him my hand. "No hard feelings?" I asked with a smirk as I helped him up.

He actually laughed at that, "No hard feelings. Wanna go for a second round?"

I opened my mouth to reply only for May's voice to interrupt us through the Bus' speakers. _"Changing course, briefing in three. SHIELD 616 with new orders. Set for Colorado air field North"_ she said before the speakers turned off again.

"Ah!" Fitz exclaimed from the lab as he took off his lab-coat. "Looks like we're on the move"

I turned my attention back to Ward who was already started taking his gloves off. "Rain check?" I asked as I followed his example.

"Rain check" he said as we both started heading to the common area, following the science twins up the stairs. "You are just as good as I remembered"

I turned to look at him, momentarily stopping dead in my tracks. "Did you just give me a compliment?" I brought my hand to my heart.

"I—" he shook his head. "I made a comment" he clarified.

"A kind one! Did it physically hurt to do that?" I leaned closer to him, "Do you need an ice pack?" I teased him and it made him smile. I resumed our walk giggling to myself and I could still see him laughing on the back. "Wow… a compliment and a smile"

"Comment" he quickly corrected.

I just shook my head at his persistence. "You are not so bad yourself" I offered before we reached the sofas and each of us sat on a different one, waiting for Coulson to arrive.

It wasn't a minute later when the leader of this team walked in, playing around on his tablet, probably pulling up for information for the mission. "A few minutes ago, a SHIELD transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near Sterling" he didn't get far before Jemma interrupted him.

"Priority red?"

He nodded and turned his tablet around, showing us a man. "The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work—"

"Oh no, not Frank" Jemma said with a devastating look at his face. "Dr Hall?" Fitz added with a similar expression on his face. "He was our chemical kinetics adviser our second year" he further explained.

That explains why I hadn't heard of him before. "Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him. We can rescue him, can't we?", the girl continued more hopeful as she reached the end of her sentence.

Coulson gave a small smile at them. "He's one of ours. We're gonna try" he reassured.

"And the attackers?" Ward questioned with a more tactical approach than FitzSimmons' mumbling.

Coulson looked at him and paused before replying a simple, "Invisible"

"Wait, invisible?" The question escaped me before I managed to restrain it, a giggle following it. "Cool" I said, nodding to myself. This would be a very interesting mission and I was so looking forward to it. But then I looked at the rest of the team's faces and shook my head adding a, "…but terrible".

* * *

 _May's POV_

By the time we landed, the sun had already set and we all headed to the scene of the crime. After debriefing agent Mack, who was the guy that was in charge of the transport of Dr. Hall, we found something really interesting that we took back in the Bus to examine. It was a small circular device which contained some short of substance in the middle that had some really interesting effects to its surroundings when it was activated. So we got it back at the Bus for our science people to have a look at, at a more controlled environment.

In the end, it was pretty late when we wrapped everything up so we knew that we would continue working on everything for as long as we could, take a few hours of sleep and then continue our research.

First thing in the morning, Phil and Ward would go to meet three potential suspects who could have sold equipment to the people who got Dr. Hall. At that time, FitzSimmons would be working on finding everything they could about what we recovered from the scene, while Skye and myself were going through every communication out of HQ since the transfer was decided. We had concluded that it most likely was an inside job, after all.

Thankfully most of our research paid off. The two men had found the person they were looking for, and the two scientists had found out what the substance that was powering the device was, as well as who we were looking for. The two of them been Gravitonium and Ian Quinn respectively. However Skye and I hadn't had any luck so far, so we still had no idea who leaked the information out…

This was how, in the afternoon of the following day, we all found ourselves around the briefing room to see how to proceed with the new information we had gathered.

"The man's a prisoner, and it's up to us to get him out" Phil said, as we were trying to come up with a plan. All of us, apart from Skye, were hovering over the table screen were all the data was presented thinking our heads off. I had already set course to Rome, and had the autopilot on while we were down here. We still had a few good hours in the least to come up with a solid plan.

Ward looked again at the information, pointing at the notes we had already kept. "We've checked the specs" he said, clearly upset, walking away from the table to take a breath and clear his head. "There's _no_ way into the Quinn's compound without a large S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force or a man inside. He's got neodymium laser fencing surrounding the property"

Phil just shook his head. "They will never allow us a strike force in Malta. Plus, this weekend, Quinn's Worldwide got its annual shareholders gathering. We'll risk a global outrage, but…" he sighed and I finished the sentence for him.

"If we go in alone…"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. can disavow us" he continued nodding in my direction.

I looked over what we would have to face again trying to think of a tactical way to infiltrate the compound but I was coming up empty. "Without a man inside, it's impossible. Unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions" I added letting a bit of sarcasm escape in my tone.

"If we had a monkey, we could get it" Fitz suddenly looked up, a glint of hope in his eye.

Simmons was quick to dismiss him, raising her voice. "Ugh, Fitz!"

"If we had a monkey…" after that I stopped listening to what he was saying. I had a hard time not staring daggers at him. Seriously, this guy. Ever since Fury shot down the idea of getting a fish tank, he had grown more and more obsessed with getting a monkey and he would bring the topic up every time he got the chance.

"I could go in" I seemed to be the only one to have heard Skye as she spoke, my head snapped in her direction, making eye contact with the girl. She was doing something on her phone, typing away not even looking at it as she maintained eye contact with me.

Ward, completely ignoring her continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta". Now, I knew that they might not get along as well, but he could at least acknowledge her. "I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover gathering intel—"

"Hall doesn't have a few weeks" Phil interrupted

Simmons found this moment to agree with the man. "And to restate, any Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets. _Legally_ " she added the last part with more emphasis as Fitz agreed with her.

"Not me, I could go in" Skye said again, a bit louder this time and Ward finally seemed to actually have heard her, not that hearing her meant that he agreed.

"Why not you? Last time I checked you were a part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Wait" Phil stepped in between then, trying to make the tension in the room less apparent. He moved closer to Skye, willing to listen to what she had to say. "What are you saying?" He asked, the same question running though my head but he phrased it before me.

"Well, I don't have to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for starters" she explained. "My Rising Tide cover is still intact, so I could go in as Jane. This way I am not breaking any of those stupid rules" from the corner of my eye I saw Jemma open her mouth to counteract that statement but Skye seemed to have caught on that movement herself and looked at the biochemist. " _'International laws'_ yes, I know Jemma" she told her. The two of them seemed to be able to talk just by looks, even more so than Simmons and Fitz could when down in the lab. That had me wondering where that connection was coming from. And let's not forget how Skye had said that Jemma was in her bunk one night and the older girl even knew of Skye's powers…

"Did you hear the deadly laser part?" Fitz countered upset. "Without a brave monkey—"

The agent didn't wait for him to finish that sentence and I was really glad. "You said we could go in with a man inside"

"And you want to be that man?" I asked her. It might have been that I used to know her, and despite her not being the same person she was back in the day, I could still read her a lot better than most people could. I knew that she was hiding something.

"FitzSimmons loved the guy, and he needs our help. And honestly, we don't have a better plan at the moment. I have everything required for a mission such as this, the background, the clearance and the experience". Her eyes had moved to her phone where she was still typing quickly. The corners of her lips soon titled upwards a bit. "Plus…" she said adding a pause for dramatic effect as she turned the screen to us so that we could see what was displayed there, "…I've got an invitation. Well, technically, it's an e-vite" she shrug her shoulders but the smile never left her face.

Phil looked at the phone for a few good seconds, weighing the options. "Good" he concluded before turning around and going back towards the table. "We know where to start. May, what's our ETA to Rome?"

"We still have at least 6 more hours to get to the base there" I replied not even bothering to head to the cockpit to check. I knew how fast my plane could go after all.

"Great. Quinn's gathering is tomorrow, afternoon. That gives us plenty of time to come up with a solid plan until then. FiztSimmons, you head down to the lab and see what you can come up with to shut down those lasers for a second team to go in, even if it's for a few seconds. May, you will stay on the stick tonight, make sure our journey is as smooth as possible. The rest of you, have a ten minute break and then we have to start thinking the details of the plan. We won't stay too late tonight, we have to be ready and fresh for tomorrow, this goes for everyone. It will only work against us if we try and come up with ideas when our brains are not functioning properly. I will see you in a bit. Dismissed"

I was the first one out of the room and as I passed by Skye I called her. "With me" and she didn't hesitate to follow.

I saw her make a move to lock the door as she walked in my solitude haven, which had become a place for the two of us to talk without any interruptions. She was the only person I could have in here without minding. Even Phil forced a conversation when he was in here, but not Skye. She would, more often than not, just come here and sit, staring at the horizon as we flew without breaking a comfortable silence that would sit between us.

"Don't lock it" I told her as I moved towards my spot, but standing right beside it, not lowering myself to the seat. "You'll need to leave in a bit either way"

"Fair enough" she turned to look at me.

She opened her mouth as if to ask what I wanted, but I beat her to it. "Why are you doing this?"

Her jaw snapped closed at my question and she seemed perplexed. "I don't—" she started but I didn't let her finish. We only had a handful of minutes before she had to meet Phil and Ward.

"You said you were doing this because we don't have a better plan at the moment" I repeated her own words. "I say, there is something you are not telling us, _me._ The others can't see it, but I know this isn't the real reason why you are doing this" I explain. " _Now_ , am I gonna have to ask again or are you going to answer truthfully this time?"

"He doesn't trust me" her instant answer was almost like a whisper but I caught it nonetheless. "I was not selected for this team, and despite you being the one who truly decided who would be included or not, Coulson still thinks it was his decision, and I was not part of that. Hill might have vouched for me, and Coulson might have been the one to agree to keep me on the team, but I still feel like I don't belong. I'm getting along great with FitzSimmons, not that this was hard to accomplish. I can feel that I am getting somewhere with Ward, he is still not a hundred percent sure about me though. I think that the two of us have started to rebuild the trust we once had, but with _him_ it's different. Sure, I helped out in our missions so far but I can still see his doubt about me, even if he tries to hide it.

"Taking initiative for this mission, coming up with a plan and seeing it through is me trying to get on his good side. I told you we are not discussing this yet, but since he doesn't remember me, he had no reason whatsoever to feel like he can believe in me. He might have told me that I have his trust unless I break it, but I can honestly still see the doubt in his eyes every time I have an input. So…" her gaze was still glued to mine, determination shining through her eyes, the request that followed sounding more like a command, "…please don't question me on this. I need to do this. I _need_ to prove myself to him"

I couldn't say anything after that and just let her walk away as I sat down on the pilot's seat, my mind going over everything that I had just heard.


	72. When In Malta

**AN: Hey! I hope you all had a great week. As always, many thanks to _MegaDiary123_ for being the best Beta I could have asked for. Oh, just a forewarning, this is one of the instances when the AU of the story comes in play. I've slightly changed how some scenes play out, compared to how they play out in the series. Yup, that's all. Without further ado...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

We arrived in Rome really early on Saturday morning, but of course we didn't stick around to enjoy the city, or do any sort of sightseeing whatsoever, and left only a couple of hours later for Malta, after we got everything we needed from the Italian base.

We had managed to come up with the best possible plan we could with the time limit we were facing. I had to give it to Fitz, as he created a make-up compact which, when put near a computer, would allow him to hack the laser defended field even for only a few seconds and allow the two other members of the team to infiltrate the villa and extract Hall.

After going over the plan, my eyes caught May and Coulson talking on the side, the former complaining about the amount of combat she had seen so far, and it being way more than what she had bargained for. The leader of the team assured her that she was not going to see any more combat as he was going to be the second person along Ward who was going to help out in rescuing Dr. Hall. And after that he turned to the rest of the team, leaving May with a concerned look on her face, and ordering us to gear up.

I quickly went to my bunk to change, wearing a bright pink dress, clearly saying that I was an attention seeker. Though my wardrobe while in S.H.I.E.L.D. mostly consisted of dark-toned clothes, my cover had more lively colours in her clothes. She was just a simple woman after all who had nothing to do with a not-so-secret organisation. Jemma, Fitz and May stayed in the Bus, which was hidden away for any prying eyes, while the three members for the mission exited and started walking our respective ways. Ward was preparing the boat with which the two of them would reach the shore of the villa while I was about to call for a taxi to get me to Quinn's building.

After working up the nerve to say what I wanted to say I turned to Coulson. "I don't want to question your orders, sir" using the term 'sir' to emphasise the seriousness of what I was about to say. He had told me to call him Coulson after all, unless it was a formal meeting and I really wanted to get his attention.

"Good" he answered, overlooking Ward at his preparation.

"But…" I stretched out. "I couldn't help but hear agent May's concerns about you being on this mission, out on the field. I don't mean to overstep any boundaries, but you once told me that you would always send at least two agents together in a mission. Ward and I make two, there is no reason for you to get involved. I strongly believe that we can see that this mission comes to fruition even without your assistance" I spoke quickly, but confidently, before he got a chance to interrupt me.

His hands were still crossed over his chest as he fully turned to look at me. His demeanour was as serious as ever. It was clear as day that he was not really pleased with what he heard and I knew that I was about to get an earful from him. So I decided that it was as good of a chance to say what was on my mind as any would be.

"I can tell you disagree and I respect that" I started before he managed to say anything and I saw his jaw tighten as he kept it shut. "I have also been taught espionage, phycology and interrogation techniques by the best there is" a certain redhead's image flashing briefly in my mind. "You might have agreed with my idea, we didn't have any better option to begin with, and you might have not said anything outright but I know that a main reason you are taking part so actively is to keep an eye on me. You are trying to hide it, and your pretending is successful to most people, but I am _not_ most people". I took a breath and let a few seconds tick by so that what I had said so far was properly digested before I continued. "I am not going to question your orders and if you think that tagging along is what is best for the mission, I will trust your judgment. However if you _are_ , indeed, doing it for the reason I suspect, I would kindly ask you to reconsider and not put yourself in any unnecessary danger because of it. Despite having planned out everything in the best of our abilities, there are many factors we couldn't take into consideration just because we didn't have the time, or the man power, or the weapons or many other things. The plan could go south with the slightest change or delay and I know that a heavy part of the mission lies on my shoulders". My clock buzzed and I looked down on my wrist only to see that I had to leave.

I lifted my head and my eyes locked with his. There was a flash of something I couldn't quite place, but the determination was still there and I knew that despite my speech, he would still go with his original plan. I pressed my lips together and nodded, accepting that there was nothing that would change the man's mind. "Good luck, to both of you" I told him and walked off to get in the taxi, turning on my ear piece so that the agents left on the Bus could hear me from then on.

* * *

After getting off the taxi, with the number M250 on the side, walking in the event and talking to people, making contact with the target, who was Ian Quinn in this mission, was pretty standard and simple. With the three agents in my ear and all the information I needed for the other attendees at hand, it was not too hard to blend in and play the part of Jane. What I did not expect though was the man offering me a job. Well… offering Jane a job. That was something I could use in my advantage if it come down to that.

And after Quinn started his speech about Gravitonium and how his company would use this new element and how his shareholders better jump at the opportunity, I slipped away and headed to the main building so as to complete the mission that I was there for.

The man really needed to change his security if he thought that the men he had at the moment were capable of stopping anyone who wanted to get into the building. Getting in the highest floor there was, it was easy enough to reach Quinn's office. We had already gone through the blueprints of the estate and his office was as high as it could possibly be, so that he not only could see what was happening to the rest of the villa, but he was close enough to the roof in case he needed to escape fast in a helicopter.

I tried to open the door, only for it to remain closed. "It's locked" I said to my earpiece. "But there's no lock" I hurriedly added.

 _"Eh, check for a keypad"_ I heard Fitz over the comms, sounding like he was chewing something.

"Are you seriously eating right now?" I yelled whispered as I looked for what the rocket scientist has pointed out only to find none. "Nope, no keypad" I said, but just as I finished that sentence my mind map picked up movement coming towards me. It matched Ian Quinns vibrational print, which I had memorised as he walked up when I met him. "Shit, he is coming" I said to myself, having forgotten that there were people hearing my every word.

 _"What? Skye you have to hide!"_ Jemma was quick to say in an urgent tone.

I closed my eyes and placed my palm over the door knob. "Stop talking" I whispered in a commanding voice which had the girl stop short from whatever else she was about to ramble. With a gentle push so as to not destroy the inner lock, but just unlock it for the moment, I sent a vibration and the handle turned with ease. Quickly, I walked in, the lock clicking when the door was closed and my back rested on its surface.

After a couple of seconds when nothing happened, I walked towards the balcony, looking at the incredible view that this room had. Not too close for people who might be strolling underneath to spot me, but enough to appreciate the sea and everything underneath. I opened the make-up, waited until the red lines turned into green for Fitz to work on and smiled at my reflexion.

 _"Oh, yes!"_ I basically heard Fitz jump on the spot right before fast typing just as Jemma exclaimed a quick _"Amazing!"_

I heard the door unlock and looked over my shoulder just as Ian Quinn walked in. When he spotted me he stopped in the spot momentarily and then narrowed his eyes "How did you get in here?"

I turned to fully face him just as the other voices in my ear seized the moment they heard the man's voice.

"I got the e-vite from the encrypted back channel that I send you the request from. I have also managed to get myself into many restricted areas in several buildings over the last years. Let's just say that I have a few tricks up my sleeve" I said with a confident smile on my face. Not a seductive one, as Quinn would not be one to be tricked into that short of thing so easily.

"So what?" He asked as he closed in on me. "I invite you here as a guest, and you treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online?"

"Please" I interrupted with a scoff before he attempted to call the security. After his question that was the part that usually followed in these kind of situations. "You are the kind of person that had created _Quinn Worldwide_. You are not stupid enough to have any kind of secrets lying around in your office. I bet you have all your important files stored away, secured by guards with guns and maybe not even in Malta. Maybe the States, or even in an exotic destination where your enemies would not even think of looking for" I walked around the sofa in front of me and sat at the edge, crossing my legs as I did so.

With a raised eyebrow, but with the phone still tightly clenched in his hand he approached and looked out of his balcony and to the sea beyond. "Why then?"

"You offered me a job, did you not?" I said without hesitation. "I wanted to talk to you about that, since you are not the only job offer I have at the moment" I said nonchalantly. I could still see the tension on his shoulders and could sense his quick heartbeat, letting me know he did not fully believe me. "Look" I let out a heavy sigh and let some tiredness slip into my voice, as if accidentally, making it seem like I was finally speaking honestly. "I am a hacker. I have a van for home that I have been living in for the past how many years, _alone_ " I especially emphasised the last word. "I don't have agoraphobia or anything, but let's just say that I feel more comfortable behind my computer rather than in a place filled with people whose monthly pay-check is more than what I've made my entire life".

Seriously, how long was it going to take Ward and Coulson to get Dr. Hall out of here? Plus Ward was supposed to come here and help me out. _"Ward's coming over to you"_ May's voice answered my questions but still. He was taking his sweet time getting here, wasn't he?

Instantly I could tell that he felt more at ease than before. Though there were still some reservation, it was clear that we were at a much better place than we were before as his phone was now back in his pocket. "If you are really here only for the job, you have to tell me what other offers you have, I have to know who my competitors are after all"

"Oh, you know, the classic suspects I'm afraid. F.B.I., C.I.A., S.H.I.E.L.D., S.I. and many others. I have hacked them all and they all have the same logic for some reason. 'You hacked me, so you are better and I want you to improve our systems'"

"And how come you never accepted any of them?" He continued the small 'interrogation'.

I rolled my eyes at that. "You are the one who asks me that?" I asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. He stared back, challenging me to resume and answer my own question. "It's the secrets" I answered more genuinely than I would have wished. He nodded, prompting me to continue. "What the Rising Tide stand for is freedom of information. And the organisations I named are all hiding so many secrets, information that people deserve to know because they are affected by said secrets. Especially S.H.I.E.L.D." I mean, what was the harm into saying what was on my mind? After all Quinn was such a hard-core anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. that I would only get into his good side. "I have to admit though, S.I.'s offer was really tempting. But if you really think about it, Iron Man has been so involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. and we don't know what kind of secrets he is hiding. Plus, Stark can be… eccentric"

"That makes sense" he spoke after thinking over what he had just heard. "You are too good to be left unchecked for them". By the time he finished his sentence I had started sensing vibrations start spreading all over the ground, slowly picking up the rate and strength. Why on earth would there be an earthquake here?

I shook my head and brought my attention back to the task at hand, stalling Quinn. "You're saying they wanted to rope me in because I pose a genuine threat to them?"

He shrugged and sat on the other corner of the sofa. "Yes. And fit their profile"

"Profile?"

"Sure. For Stark Industries, well, you can use a computer and you have a pretty face. You know Stark's reputation. As for the others… you're a criminal. You have a warrant somewhere"

"Probably"

"Specialised skill set"

 _If only you knew my skill set_ , I thought. I smiled instead "I try to stay humble"

"No family" he declared. The smile disappeared from my face. I was not playing the part of Jane anymore. I had a family, a very dysfunctional but loving family. Still, my mind flashed back to a time when I was looking into my actual family, where I was coming from. Who I really was. "I'm sorry" He said after the long pause, studying my expression. "I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but that is what these people do. S.H.I.E.L.D., they prey on fear and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home to those who have no one else to turn to. I can offer you something better. You stay with us, there are no secrets, no lies, and no agenda. You're free to do what you do without a big brother watching over you" just as he finished an earthquake shook through the place, stuff falling of the nearby shelves and onto the floor.

But this was no ordinary earthquake. After I figured out about my powers, one of the first things I did was study earthquakes, their patterns and how they evolve, and I had also lived through several ones in the past years. This was different, it felt different. It felt… unnatural. I could swear that it was almost like it was manmade, maybe even artificial.

As Quinn fell to the ground, I saw a pen start levitate. This was a clearly not good sign. I needed to get out of there, waiting for Ward was no longer an option. "Thi-This was a pretty strong shake there. I think I'm going to leave the building and try to get to the ground" I said to Quinn, purposely making my voice shake a bit before bolting from the room.

Just as I was about to take a sharp left the agent bumped into me. "What took you so long?" I asked him, but as he opened his mouth to answer I interrupted him, grabbed his arm and took off from where he came. "Nevermind that, we have more pressing matters at hand. Something is going on with the Gravitonium"

We both halted just as a handful guards came running towards us. They stopped momentarily when they saw us, clearly not expecting us, before running again ready to attack us.

"Seriously?" I asked Ward before the first guard reached me. He made a move to punch my face but I dodged away and then hit his Adam's apple, which had him fall to the ground with his hands around his throat trying to breathe in. I had just docked another's kick, and landed an uppercut which seemed to do nothing to the huge man in front of me when I spoke again, "Why did you not incapacitate them on your way here?"

I could feel Ward rolling his eyes even though I was not looking at him. "The plan…" _grunt_ , "…was to…" _grunt_ , "…sneak in" final punch to the head that had his opponent knocked out.

"Is that why…" I kicked the man behind his knees before landing a round hound kick to the side of his head and he joined the other in dreamland. "…it took you so long to get to me?" I turned to him as one of the fallen guards made a move to stand up but was put back on the ground as both Ward and I punched him in the face.

"Please, you could have handled them" and with that he just walked off.

I was internally screaming as I caught up to him and we made our way to where I could only assume Coulson was. But despite his words, I sensed no ill-intention hidden in his voice, so I couldn't really hold a grudge.


	73. Eye Spy

**AN: Hello, people! You know the drill. Many thank to _MegaDiary123._ Here we start with the 4th episode. I'm not getting that much into that episode as I have with the others so far. If you have any question don't hesitate to review or leave me a PM. Until next time...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Coulson's POV_

The mission at Malta didn't go as well as expected and I was not a big fan of the way that it turned out. But there was nothing I could do other than what happened at the end. The choice between the life of one person who would die not too long after and the lives of the people on the island and most importantly my team, though not desired, was not a hard one.

The paperwork that had to be filled to explain everything that went down was a huge pain. But since we stored the Gravitonium at the Fridge and the registry was destroyed, something good came out of the whole ordeal. Though we sent the Gravitonium over at the Fridge, we landed in Rome again to refuel and visit our base. It was only a day later that information about some happenings in Stockholm came through and it caught my eye. What the thief managed to do was something almost unheard of. I could imagine less than a handful of people who would be able to achieve something like that and since one of them was in the Bus with the team and the other was an Avenger… I had to find out for myself.

So, I gathered everyone and soon we were on the air with Sweden as the destination.

I had just finished with the required documents that I would need for the mission, to show to the local police and military that gathered in the area, and decided to head to the cockpit. More often than not I would notice that Skye would either go in there with May and stay with her as she flew, or she would disappear someplace else, for a few hours every time and then she would reappear out of thin air. I still didn't know what to make of her exactly. And what she said to me right before infiltrating Quinn's villa… it made me think that maybe I have been too hard on her.

I knocked before opening the door to the cockpit, where May was by herself, her focus on the various panels in the room and the clean sky ahead of us. "Maybe I should learn to fly. It's not too late, right?" I turned to look at May who still looked out of the front widows, pretending I wasn't even there. I wouldn't admit it to her, but I missed the way we used to talk to each other before that mission went wrong all those years ago. "I could learn" I concluded when I didn't get any reply from her, nodding my head to no-one in particular. "What do you like best… the freedom? The view?"

"The solitude" my attempt for small talk was destroyed by May's blunt reply and I had to suppress a giggle.

"Got it. See you in Sweden" I told her and headed towards the door. I don't know what possessed me to say so, but right before I left the room I spoke to her "But you still let Skye come in here". There was no anger or resentment in my voice, I was just stating a fact after all.

I could swear I heard her reply "Exactly" but I wouldn't be sure, given that I was already at the corridor and walking toward the lab where I knew everyone else was.

FitsSimmons were working on the new dendrotoxin .45-caliber cartridges, semi automatic guns. I arrived just as Ward was about to ascend the stairs and leave the science twins keep working on their project. "Has any of you seen Skye?", I asked them.

"Not really" Ward didn't bother looking back as he left. I shook my head. Though the two of them had made some progress, there was still a long way to go until they actually got along. But I couldn't complain really, it wasn't like they made a big fuss every time they were together in the room, so I guessed they just needed some more time to work things out.

"Sir" my attention was redirected to Simmons who was looking at me. She cleared her throat and her eyes flew to one of the vans parked at the cargo hold before going back to continuing her work.

My right eyebrow almost reached my hairline at that as I started walking towards said vehicle. It wasn't that hard to not miss the connection that the two girls had, always making sure the other is okay, knowing what the other is about to say or is thinking about. I knocked on the window and it rolled down to reveal Skye in the backseat, with her laptop on her lap.

"Hey, Coulson. What's up?" She asked.

"What are you doing in here Skye?", I couldn't help but ask in return. She could be anywhere in the Bus, working with the system's computers and she chose such a small and closed space?

"I'm just taking a little me time. It can get pretty loud in the Bus and I like my solitude every now and then" she replied with an easy smile on her face.

I scoffed at that. Her words sounding so similar to what May had just said moments ago that I could see why she actually allowed Skye in her sacred space. "Whatever works best for you I guess. Anyhow, I need your help with something"

* * *

Just as she did a couple of days ago with the e-Vite that she got for Quinn's gala, Skye just logged into her phone and she dropped the idea that we could find the person behind the heist through the online platforms. "It's amazing. Every year this part of our job gets easier. Between Facebook, Instagram and Flickr, people are surveilling themselves".

I could see Skye nodding along to my words as her eyes travelled through the screen where we had the tag and search program running. "And with many filters to choose from" she added making a small smile appear on my face. Her ability to say something so irrelevant to the case since the day she walked in the Bus would help ease the atmosphere at intense moments. "You know that I helped design the system you are using right?" She asked and I could hear the pride in her voice. When I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow she actually giggled. "What? My hacking abilities aren't just limited to getting into places through backdoors of the dark web. I have helped close holes in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security systems for years now, and upgrading many of their existing softwares and applications" she declared as her gaze shifted back to the screen. "Ha!" She exclaimed and pointed as a picture came up with a woman fitting the profile that we were looking for.

"I can run facial-recognition software on the photos, cross-reference them with our criminal database" May quickly added, always ready to get down to business and not beat around the bush.

"You don't have to" I answered just as quickly, as I laid my eyes on my rookie that I hadn't seen for years. "That's the thief. Her name's Akela Amador"

I transferred the image of Amador to my tablet and moved towards the briefing area to bring in the rest of the team who was waiting for the three of us. "You're certain?" May questioned as we walked.

"I should be" I paused and turned to look at the two women behind me. "I trained her" and with that I walked in. The briefing went as expected, mostly that is. May wanted to alert the HQ of our findings but I told her to not do so for the time being. I wanted to bring her in myself, I couldn't believe that she would cross the agency like that, despite all her flaws. May, of course, was not too excited with what she was ordered, but followed through anyway and set course to Belarus.

I was still looking at Akela's picture on the screen, thinking that everyone had already left, only for someone to clear their throat. I lifted my head only to find Skye looking at me. "Look, I know it's not my place, but don't blame yourself because this chick went to the dark side. Whatever… path, whatever weird stuff she got into, it's on her. Not on you. So, please try not to beat yourself too hard about it, okay?" She offered a small smile and left me alone in the room.

I didn't know why, but I could have sworn that she was speaking from experience.

* * *

From there on the mission started going from bad to worse. True, we knew that Akela was in Belarus but when we went in to locate her, she attacked the van that FitzSimmons and Skye were in. If it weren't for Skye being a trained agent I wouldn't want to think what might have happened. But she was there and, despite not chasing after Akela, staying with the other two to make sure that they stayed safe and waited for Ward and me to arrive, she did manage to get a license plate which she was running in the lab. She was also trying to hack back into the feed that Akela was watching them from and so we had a sort of solid lead.

But then, when we were able to watch back to what she was seeing, May had to put her input again. "We have to take her out. She's a weapon. I'll call HQ, see if we can bring a task force to help us"

I looked at her, my eyes narrowing. Ever since she found out it was one of my old trainee's she was dead set on calling the big guns and not letting us deal with it. "Our team can handle it" I said with confidence.

May let out a sigh and the rest of the team parted for her to walk forwards and stand right opposite me. "I get it. You feel responsible… maybe you pushed her too hard. But she tried to kill three members of our team"

"If she wanted us dead, we would be dead" I instantly said back. "And Skye was with them, nothing happened".

"We got _lucky_ " she emphasised the last word. "You wanna risk our lives again?"

I couldn't believe this. I could understand this coming from Ward, it was like he was born and bred out of a textbook for crying out loud. But never from May. "You told me you were ready for combat. You told me that you had my back"

"Don't ever doubt it" she cut in, not letting me form another sentence. "But you are defending this girl at the expense of the team"

"Because we protect our own" I took a step towards the woman that I knew for so many years.

"With all due respect, sir. She is not one of our own" Ward had to say his part and I clenched my jaw. Thankfully Skye cut in, pointing at the screen were Akela was asked permission to sleep on a piece of paper.

And when a _'Stand by_'_ appeared at the edge of the screen I knew what this was. "She's not being watched. She's been controlled. We have to find her. Take shifts watching the feeds. Sooner or later she'll look at something that will clue us in her location"

"I'll take the first watch" May said and I pointedly looked at her.

This was not an argument that I wanted to have at the moment and so I retreated in my office. It was going to be a long night… I couldn't really sleep and I was going over and over the information that we had gathered ever since we landed in Stockholm, trying to memorise anything and everything that I deemed relative. The trace-like state that I was in was interrupted from a knock on the door which opened slowly to reveal Skye.

"I just wanted to give you a quick update" she said and I put my paper on the desk, my attention fully at her. "She's still at the hotel, so… and that's the update" she finished and a slightly awkward silence filled the room. I could tell that there was something else she wanted to say, and she just didn't know how to breach the subject. "It was a pretty weird day, huh? It was like we were trapped in a van-shaped piñata for a minute there"

I let out a sigh. "That should never have happened" I said, knowing it wasn't going to offer any short of reassurance.

"That's okay" she said in return as if trying to reassure _me_. "I have been in many bad situations, I just wouldn't want to think what would have happened had I not been there. And anyways, it wasn't nearly as bad as watching you and May fight downstairs"

"That shouldn't have happened either. You regret having Maria assign you here?"

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again thinking over the words she was about to form. "The Deputy Director might have suggested that I am added in this team, but you were the one to give the okay. And I know that you are not extremely excited with the idea, but I feel like we are getting somewhere. Or I least I _think_ that we do. That's speaking from my part, I don't know about you. And I know you might not know a lot about me and this is throwing you off, but I value you. And if you think this woman deserves a second chance, we should give it to her. Even though she tried to kill us and I kinda hate her guts" she smiled at the last sentence. Then her expression sobered up. "You gave me one after the rough start we had and I appreciate that. I am sure she will too when we get to her" she nodded so slightly and left the room, closing the door behind her.

That girl… I didn't know what to make of her. She would often joke about things, but then she would find the solution to whatever problem I throw her way. And from time to time she would take this expression where she would speak so sincerely and deeply that it was a complete turn from the personality traits that she wears most of the day.

She was an interesting person indeed. And as I had concluded a few hours ago, I might have been too hard on her.


	74. Making Amends

**AN: Hey! Here comes the latest chapter. First things first, a big thank you to _MegaDiary123._ Also, at the end of this chapters things happen. You're gonna have to bear with me until the next update to learn more on those. Until next time...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

Finally, the mission had finished. It was a handful, that one. True, the end result could have been a lot better, but at least we had secured Amador and her handler was no more. On the other hand, we knew that both of them were just pawns to a greater game and we still didn't know who the chess master was, we didn't know who we were playing against.

But, as we handed Amador to the S.H.I.E.L.D. representatives in Minsk, we were finally flying back towards the US, where I was hoping to get some time off. This mission being straight after Malta, the team didn't have any time to really recharge their batteries, myself included. Plus, there were a few things that happened during the span of those last few days that had me thinking and I wanted to do some questioning and digging on my own.

Despite most of the team being at their respective bunks and areas, instead of going to my room, I decided to hide in one of the vans again. It was something about the small and fully enclosed space that gave me the sense of security and privacy. True, I had secured my bunk and no-one but me could enter, but it was still bigger than that place. Plus the darkness that engulfed the interior of the vehicle was something that my room, in the middle of the day, didn't have.

Never really shutting off my powers, I could sense Coulson walking towards my location and turned to look at the door when he opened it. "Are you still needing your you time?", he asked with an easy smile on his face.

He seemed almost relaxed. No, relaxed isn't the right word. I don't think I've seen him properly relaxed since I met him again a few weeks back. I would say that he gave out more of a weight-finally-lifted-off-my-shoulders kind of vibe. "Nah, I think I'm quite good for now. Unless you are here to give me a lecture" I half-heartedly challenged. When he shook his head I let out a sigh. "Good, then there's room for you. Slide in" I prompted and moved to the other seat, providing him with more space.

"Why would you think I would give you a lecture? What did you do?" He asked as he closed the door behind him and settled on the backseat.

"I don't know" I tried, shrugging my shoulder and playing it cool but he wouldn't have it. A pointed look was all it took for the truth to come out. "Look, I've been with this team for a bit more than a month now, and I don't want to repeat myself over and over again, we already went through my thoughts right before each of us left for our parts of the mission in Malta. I just feel that even if I do something right you're gonna be there, finding a flaw or something to complain about in my work and I guess I was just expecting to hear something similar now" I trailed off. Normally I would avert my eyes but I wanted to see his reaction, which is why my gaze was locked on his, taking in every small move or micro-expression he did.

He, just as I did, had his whole focus on me. After a bit he let out a heavy breath, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly as his expression softened. "When we first met, you said you knew me. But you didn't know I was alive. When we talked with Maria, she said that your operation in the Rising Tide was only accessed by herself and the Director. That means, and you have proven so during the time you've been under my command, that you are a very capable agent. And must be quite high up in the hierarchy as well for such a mission to be assigned to you. Which means that during my time as Deputy Director I would have worked with you. At least that's what my logic tells me, and yet I cannot recall you no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I search in the agency's database.

"It's like you don't exist and that doesn't bond with me well. And when Fury came in and asked you in his office, you had that serious expression on your face and you talked with him for a while. I understand that you have secrets and there must be things that Fury, you and Maria know that I am unaware of and not classified to know. I trust the system, I trust Fury with my life…" he said and my instant thought was _'you shouldn't'_ but it remained just a thought. "And I might have taken my frustrations about the whole situation out on you. And this was wrong of me. I will try to be more open minded from here on out and I hope that one day you can forgive me". He finished and silence engulfed the van.

His words were going through my head once more, just to make sure that I had absorbed all of what was said just seconds ago.

I understood him, I really did. And how could I ever hold a grudge against Coulson? He was like, one of the nicest people on planet Earth, well that was when he wanted to be apparently. Because, _boy,_ that man could hold a grudge if he wanted to.

"I get it" I eventually said. "And don't worry about my forgiveness, there is nothing to forgive, it was just you adjusting to some new variables that you hadn't taken into account before. Plus, you are a cool guy. Not many people would have made that call, give Amador a second chance. I know you told me that you got yours and so you extend the same opportunity to others, but no-one would have judged if you decided not to"

I finally took my eyes off him and trailed them at the back of the seat in front of me.

"I can understand why you like it in here" his voice ringed though the small space not long after I finished talking.

One corner of my lips lifted at that. "It's more peaceful here. More so than the rest of the Bus that is, maybe with the exception of the cockpit. It's also nice knowing that someone has my back. No matter what" I decided to add the last two sentences just to register his reaction.

But even without looking at him, his heartbeat remained the same, not spiking at any point, as he took in my words. "Yeah… peaceful is good" he said and I felt him actually relax next to me.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night when, after sleep escaped my grasp for a few consecutive hours, I decided to head to the cockpit to be with the only other person who I thought would be awake at this ungodly hour.

After gently knocking with our prearranged pattern to know that it was me walking in, I gently slide the door open only to find that my speculation was indeed correct and the pilot was still on her feet. "I know you are probably going to decline, but I could take over for a few hours for you to lay back a bit. I have had the proper training, Clint's courtesy" I said.

The sideways look that I got from her was all I needed to know. I raised my arms, palms facing her in a surrendering manner. "Didn't mean to offend you" I joked. "What's our ETA?"

"9 more hours until we reach New York" she simply replied.

"Nice. Do you mind if I sit with you?" The small shake of her head was all the confirmation I needed to make myself home at the shotgun seat.

It was a silent agreement that we had. She didn't mind me joining her during her piloting as long as I either kept quiet or actually had something that we needed to discuss, usually mission or Fury related. And the truth was that there was a topic that had just stuck to my mind and was what was keeping me up at night, but I really didn't know how to approach this issue.

I knew that May wouldn't hold it against me if I asked, and that she would reply, but I just… I don't know. I felt like it was like an old would that had healed and didn't want to dig into it again, but my curiosity had sparked again after my talk with Ian Quinn and I couldn't shut it off. True, with my Level Clearance I should be able to have access to the files, but I couldn't be sure, and I sure as hell was not going to ask the Pirate for any favours. Maybe I could—

"Skye" May's voice shook me off my train of thoughts and I actually had to blink a couple of times before turning to face her.

"Was I thinking too loudly again?" I asked, having had a similar conversation another night when she was at the stick and I had woken up by one of my not-so-pleasant dreams and came to join her in this room.

"No, there is actually something I need to talk to you about"

I had to do a double take, not really believing my ears. May never initiated any short of dialogue. Like… ever. Not unless she had some questions that she needed answered. _Ah, so that must be it_ , I mentally noted and nodded my head. "What can I help you with?"

I saw her grip at the wheel tighten ever so slightly as she prepared herself to speak. Nothing much, nothing close to her knuckles turning white from the pressure (this was May we are talking about here, her composure levels are skyrocketed). "We haven't talked about it at all ever since you told me about your _abilities…_ " the mention of my powers is enough to explain her lack of comfort "…but I need to ask you something. Something about Phil"

I had a feeling that I knew where this is going, but I couldn't be sure. "What about him?"

"When we had that conversation, you had some other information that you didn't disclose. And though the Director specifically said that you can bring me in on anything or nothing you want, I have been meaning to ask. I want to know what happened to Phil, why he doesn't remember you". Of course she said that she has been meaning to ask but there was no trace of an actual question in her speech, making it sound more like a command. But I knew that that was her way of actually asking.

"Why the sudden interest?" I asked as I stood and walked to the door to lock it. I was guessing that the microphones were already turned off, she wasn't stupid to leave them on. "Don't get me wrong, but we haven't even remotely talked about anything similar to that matter. Something must have triggered this. You are not the patient kind when you want answers" I said bluntly. No point in sugarcoating my words.

Just as blunt was May's reply. "When I handed Amador to the other agents, she said something that intrigued me. She asked what happened to him, claiming that he is different. And when I told her that he's just loosened up a little bit she shook her head. 'Yeah, but what did they _do_ to him?', she questioned and when I couldn't answer she just told me to forget about it"

At this new information my mind started racing a million miles per second. "It sounded like she knew something, or that she was asking for something in particular" May continued. "And since him forgetting you is the only missing element, I am guessing that it's related to that".

I was still trying to piece together the pieces in my head. I guessed I must have remained quiet for way too long because May turned on the autopilot and stood to come next to me, "Skye?"

"Where did your orders to land to New York come from?" I whispered but I knew she heard me just fine.

"Coulson" she answered, and though she tried to mask her voice I could direct the confusion behind her words clear as day.

"You have new orders" I turned to face her. "Set course to Washington, we need to go to the Triskelion as soon as possible". When May looked at me like I had grown a second head, I suppressed my annoyance and looked at her pointedly. "I don't have time for you to question me, okay? I need to get to the HQ asap"

"I am sorry Skye, but you don't have the Clearance to—"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked as I run out of the door, to my bunk and back as fast as possible. " _Foxtrot-20 Uniform-13_. I _do_ have the Clearance and your orders have been over-ridden, May. Now, will you change our destination or will I have to?" I asked exacerbated, showing her my Level card.

"No, I'll do it" May recovered quickly from her initial shock. "You know that he's not gonna be really happy about it, right?"

"Well, he's just gonna have to live with it I guess". I reached into my pocket and took my phone out, getting into a specific locked program and bringing the microphone close to my mouth but before I spoke to the device I turned to look at May, "This doesn't leave this room, I will know if it does. Remember what I told you before, when I told you about my powers? This is even larger"

"You can trust me" May said from the pilot seat, her voice confident.

I nodded in thanks, sure she would be able to see it and turned back to my phone. "Voice activation, Skye Q 2000"

"Hello Skye, how can I help you?" came an instant reply from my phone.

"Hey, T.A.D.A.S.H.I., I need a favour. I need you to log into the Bus' systems and block all the files from our latest mission. Start from whenever we got word about what happened to Stockholm. After that, I'm gonna open a back door for you and you're gonna go into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security system and do the same for any documents related to it. Only the people in my Grudge List are allowed access. Got all that?" I asked as I put my phone down and opened the laptop which I had brought back with me when I went into my bunk to grab my Level card.

"Of course" answered the American accented U.I. voice. "I'll be done in about half an hour with both of requests. Is that time frame satisfactory?"

"Yes, man. Just do it as fast as possible please"

"Will do"

After that, the cockpit was filled with the noice of my keyboard. Not long after, my phone rang and I checked the caller I.D. making sure that it was the person that I was expecting a call from. I plugged my earphones, making sure that May wouldn't be able to listen to my conversation when I answered.

" _Is this line secure_?" The voice came from my phone.

"It is J. May's in the room but I'm gonna bring her up to speed when we land. You're not on speaker" I replied, never slowing down my typing.

I could hear a heavy sigh from the other end of the line. "I _guess that you using just the initial and not the full name is a progress? Now, why did I get an alert that_ your _system is in_ my _system_?"

"We are coming to Triskelion. There have been some new developments regarding the holes in your clothes and those files that Tee is securing are for that purpose" I explained as best as I could without giving too much information. The reason why I was doing this in the cockpit instead of my own bunk was that this room was soundproof, but still, you could never be too sure.

" _Motherfucker_ " I heard him curse. " _You sure about May?_ "

"You started it when she became your rat. But yeah, she is the only person here who I trust that can actually keep a secret" I admitted.

" _Can't argue with your logic_ " he concluded. " _I will let Maria know to expect you, though I have a feeling she already knows. Want me to do anything?_ "

I was about to say no to that, but then I thought I might as well use him for something not too significant. "I over-rode Coulson's orders since we were headed to New York. Could you sent him an order from the HQ for the change in destination? I don't want him asking questions"

" _Fair enough. I will arrange everything_ " and with that the line went dead.

After that it mustn't have been 10 minutes before T.A.D.A.S.H.I. said that he finished with his work. "You are amazing Tee. Thank you. Deactivation Hamada 2010".

After securing all the files, I shut my computer down and put it to the side. This new development was not something I wanted to deal with at the moment, but I didn't have any choice. I looked outside the window only to be met by the dark sky. I should try to get some sleep if I could… the next day was going to be a very long one.


	75. Heart To Heart

**AN: Hey guys! First of, many thanks to _MegaDiary123_. Also, I'm really sorry for the different update date. The dates are going to be weird from now on, because University is kicking me hard this year and I don't have time to do much else. So I'll update when I write chapters really, I am really sorry but I don't know exactly how often that will be. I'm really sorry for this. On a lighter tone, I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _May's POV_

After Skye changed the Bus' course to the Triskelion and after she talked on the phone with someone, my best guest was Director Fury, she finished up on her computer and then went back to her quarters to try and get some sleep. So I was left, once again, alone in the cockpit with my thoughts running wild.

I would have never guessed that my simple question about the lack of Phil's memories would trigger something like that. We landed in our new destination, still not understanding what had happened hours ago. Based on what her badge said, she was Level 9. But that couldn't possible be, could it? From what I knew only Maria, who was Deputy Director, had just as high a Clearance. But still, the badge and the code that she used to over-ride Phil's orders were solid for me to change the route of the plane.

Thankfully the Director called and Phil was let known that orders came from up high and he didn't question me first thing in the morning about why we were not heading to New York. After all he _"trusted the system"_ as he himself would say more often than not.

We were out of the Bus in a moment's notice, Maria meeting us when we touched down to take Skye and myself… somewhere in the Triskelion.

"Where are you taking them?" Phil asked as soon as he saw Maria motion the two of us to join her.

Never slowing down she replied, "I need to bring Skye and May up to speed for a mission. It was a last minute thing, which is why we rushed you here. Don't worry, we will not steal them from you, I just need them for the day and they will be back with you before you say 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'" She didn't even slow down as she spoke and Phil was soon left far behind.

We walked in an elevator, scanning our Clearance cards. When I scanned mine the system turned red, displaying that I had not Clearance high enough for where we were going. Maria had to vocally grant me access for this one trip by using her Deputy Director status. "I'm gonna guess that neither of you managed to get any sleep last night, but unfortunately we need to get this over with as soon as possible for you to get back to your team" Maria started again as she led us to a room with a table, two chairs at each side of it and a double-sided mirror. On the table there was a warm cup of tea and coffee. "When you are done, come and find me" she directed this last part at Skye who just nodded and went to sit at one of the metal chairs. Maria left the room and the _click_ of the door closing echoed as we were left alone in the room.

I watched as Skye typed quickly on her laptop and soon after the mirror was deactivated and we could see the empty recording room next door. "How did you—?"

"I'm the head of cyber security in the organisation" she cut in, knowing what I was about to ask. "I have access everywhere security-wise. Cameras, microphones…" she trailed off and pointed at the mirror "…mirrors. Every surveillance equipment within these walls is already shut down. What we discuss is not going to be heard by anyone" she reassured as I took my seat. "The story is long and I'm gonna have to ask you not to interrupt me until I have finished. It might take some time, and I might need a small break at some points but after today you will know the whole story". I could see how serious she was about this, any sign of joking around had disappeared from both her face and tone. "Is there any question you have to ask before we start?"

Based on what she had said so far we had a long day ahead of us. So I really thought if there was anything specific I wanted answered, that it might not be included in the story that she was about to tell me. "Why were you so tense when Maria came to pick us up?" I had noticed that there was something between the two women, I just didn't know what that was.

"Well, that is connected to what I'm about to tell you, so how about we let that question answer itself later on?" I just nodded. "Good" she said more to herself. "That's good. Anything else you want?" Her attention was turned back to me and this time I shook my head. "Alright then, I guess it's my turn to speak" she took a deep breath as she laid back in her chair, hands crossed over her chest.

"When Fury send me in the undercover mission to infiltrate the Rising Tide, I was not just in there to make sure that whatever video they uploaded didn't really harm the organisation" she started. "Ever since I started working on fixing many of the problems that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firewalls have, I found way too many holes in the systems and knew that something had to be going on. I confined in the Pirate and we started looking more into it. Long story short, turns out that many of the holes were made from the Rising Tide, but not only them. There was something more in the story and this is what I went in to investigate. I collected all the intel I could on the hackers working there, but I could tell that there was something deeper there. It wasn't possible for the whole of Rising Tide to just upload information and not get anything in return. There were way too many people involved for the Rising Tide to be just another hacktivist group. They had to be funded by someone. That's when I stumbled into Centipede.

"It was not those who funded them, I am still looking into that. But Centipede's money came from the same place, the same people. I was looking into that organisation when Mike Peterson happened and I had to blow my cover in order to save him" she bended down and took a file out of the backpack she had brought in with her. She slid it towards me and when I caught it she pointed at it. "This is everything we know about the Rising Tide, Centipede and whoever might be behind them. It's not much but it's something"

I opened the file and started going through the information inside. "You might question why we have several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in there are marked as _'Unknown'_. That is because our main suspicion at the moment is that we have a leak from inside the organisation. And unfortunately, mostly everyone we have a question-mark on is in a pretty high Clearance Level"

My eyes darted from face to face, reading every name in the file fast as I took in everything she was saying. I knew those people, I had worked with most of them when I was still in the field before 2008. There were people I trusted, people I knew had my back back in the day.

If what Skye was implying, or outright saying, was true then it meant that we were in deep.

But still, that doesn't explain what that had anything to do with her reaction yesterday or how she connected the fact that Amador asked for what happened to Phil with what she was showing to me now. Or why she sealed the files from our latest mission.

She must have read it in my face, or waited long enough for me to put the pieces together, because her resuming was just answering the questions that were rising in my mind. "I suspect that the same people who controlled Amador, are the same or are at least connected to the people that we are looking for. And what you told me that she asked you… that unfortunately only makes me think that there _are_ , indeed, people within S.H.I.E.L.D. that are working against us" she let out a sigh and once again she bended to take another file off her backpack.

At that moment I analysed her movement, noticing her posture become more tense, her grip on the file she just took out so tight that her knuckles had turned white. I raised an eyebrow at that, pointedly looking at her hands. She looked down and relaxed her grip at the paper, as she placed the new file on the table, but didn't throw it my way.

"The reason…" she started again and my gaze traveled from her fingers to her face, as she took a deep breath. "The reason why I reacted like that yesterday, or at least earlier today, is _entirely_ because of what Amador told you. There are only four, now five…" she said her eyes locking with mine, "…people who know what happened to Phil. All of whom were sworn to secrecy and have the highest of Clearance. This document…" her finger tapped on the file in front of her, "…is a Level 9 Classified document of what really happened. Not even the Secretary has access to this file, because of how important and delicate the information within it is"

After taking another deep breath, she threw the file my way. I tentatively took it and started reading the information. Information about a drug, GH-325, which originated from the blood of a blue alien that was secured in a secret location. Documents of all the tests, the experiments, the craziness that the people who took that drug succumbed in.

The more I read the more I understood what happened. As if struck by lightning I lifted my head to look at Skye. She, in her turn, was analysing me so as to see my reaction. "He really died" I concluded and the nod that I received was enough for a crashing feeling to fill my chest. _No… it couldn't be,_ I thought.

I noticed how, when Skye nodded, her jaw clenched.

Her steel mask was on, trying to hide what feelings were crushing through her veins. She was looking straight at me, as if she could create a hole in my head just by staring. The same thing Natasha used to do when she had something to hide, she was still doing that only in a lessen manner. "What are you not telling me?" I actually asked, and not demanded for the first time in a long time.

I instantly noticed how Skye's hands started to tremble ever so slightly and she quickly hid them away, under the desk. I could tell that she felt like she had a lump in her throat from the way she was swallowing.

After what seemed like minutes from my part but couldn't have been more than a few seconds, she opened her mouth. "When that _Alien Nazi_ attacked, he had a sceptre. When he touched people with that, he could control them" she said. I could tell that was the something she was really struggling to talk about. Her breathing coming, ever so slightly, faster. "I was one of those people"

 _Please tell me that this is not going where I think this is going,_ I mentally begged to no-one in particular, hoping that what I had just assumed was wrong. Memories of a young girl who touched people and controlled them flashed in the back of my mind.

"I was ordered to protect Loki, make sure the plan he had came to fruition" she paused. Her eyes glazed over, as her mind was a million miles away, to events that happened years ago. I knew that look. I saw it in the mirror so many times after what happened in Bahrain. "Phil tried to stop him". I could feel the punch that was about to land in my stomach, but could do nothing to stop it. _"I killed him"_

The air left my lungs in a _whoosh_ and I felt the time stop for a while. The degrading feeling that was creeping up my spine finally taking a hold. She didn't stop though, she continued speaking and I had a feeling that she was trying to get the words out before she lost her nerve. "That's the reason why he doesn't remember me. The Avengers don't know he is alive. Natasha and Clint don't know. And when they used the Memory Overwriting Machine to make him forget the operation used to bring him back, they used it to erase me from his memories as well" She scoffed at that, her mask breaking ever so slightly to show her irritation. "Because, apparently, _'He would look for me, knowing I would blame myself and the whole operation would have been blown up'_ ".

I could tell that those words came from another and I was 90 percent sure who those words might have come from. "Who—?"

"Fury" she answered and my speculations were verified. "Maria was in the know as well, but she was just following orders. It was the Pirate's doing"

Suddenly all the pieces that I was missing, all the questions that I couldn't answer, _everything_ made sense. The reason why Skye was so uptight when Fury came in the Bus after the 0-8-4 operation, why when we walked in the Triskelion she was practically looking anywhere but at Maria's direction. The tiredness that I had noticed the first time I saw her after all those years, that look in her eyes that I had only managed to get a glimpse of when she exited Phil's office after the first mission. I could see myself, years ago, in her. After what happened in Bahrain, I was a mess and I guess that this is what she felt as well, but she probably had it way worse than I did. Being the one being controlled, remembering everything that happened at that time and having to… kill Phil.

"Please, say something" she whispered and there was a vulnerability in her voice that I had years to hear.

In that moment I made a decision that I was not going to get back from, but I knew was the right one. "I am guessing you have been wondering why I don't like being called _'The Calvary'_ " I started and watched as her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly before relaxing once again. "I can tell that you have been wanting to ask and yet you haven't. Thank you for that" I said genuinely and even let the corners of my lips tilt upwards, catching Skye by surprise.

I took a deep breath as I let the memories rise ever so briefly. "It was six years ago, two years after you disappeared. We were called in with Phil, to be the welcome wagon and try to bring a powered person in before the Russians did. Her name was Eva Belyakov. We believed she had hand strength, but we couldn't be sure. It went bad really quickly. Phil was trying to talk her down, but a street gang came, she was part of that gang, and they took her and a girl" I took a deep breath at the memory of Katya. "She must have been, what… eight, nine? She was younger than you when we found you" I breathed out and looked at Skye. Her eyes were trained on me, focus never breaking. I could see the gears running behind those smart eyes of hers, connecting the dots. The reason why I was tense when she first mentioned her powers. I knew she knew, but she never questioned and that made it ever so easier for me to explain to her what happened. She never pushed and I was really grateful for that.

"Our agents went in, we didn't know what happened. Their comms were turned off, we had no idea what was going on. I wanted to go in, I was a Specialist after all. Go in, take our guys out and rescue the girl as well. When I went in, I tried to contact Phil, but his comms were offline. I was alone in there" I had mentally relived the scenes that unfolded in that building that it was easier than I expected to say the words. It was not easy at all, but I could at least form them. And even if not for my sake, I knew that I had to do this for Skye and that extra push was enough. "I found our guys but they seemed out of it, _'I need your pain'_ they kept repeating again and again" I said that sentence with more hate than I intended to put in my tone. My jaw momentarily locking and I had to stop before I managed to resume.

"That's when I knew they were controlled. Only I thought it was because of Eva. So I locked the agents in the room and went to put an end to this, I could see no other way other than take her out. So I went in and neutralised the threat. I took a shot right under my knee and a pretty heavy beating but I thought I could save the girl, save our guys". Suddenly I could relate to Skye swallowing hard when she was saying her story. I felt my throat close and I brought a hand to my neck to rub the area, hoping that the comb that had formed there would disappear.

"May" Skye said attentively. "You don't have to". I could tell that she meant it with wholeheartedly.

"I do" I replied without even thinking about it. She had done nothing but trust me since we met again on the Bus, never lying to me and opening up about both her powers and now this.

She must have picked up on my thoughts because she shook her head. "I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me anything just because I confined in you. Honestly, if the situation was any different, I would probably take a lot longer—"

"I know I don't have to" I cut her off. "I want to" and I made sure she could see that I meant it. Only when she nodded I continued. "It turned out that Katya, the girl, was the one who was controlling everyone. They compelled to her, with one raise of her hand she could make them come to her, she could kill them. I tried to talk her down, I really did, but she _wasn't_ listening. She said she liked the pain" I could imagine my eyes in turn being glazed over as I momentarily went back to that warehouse.

"I was on the floor, heavily beaten from before, I couldn't even stand on my own. I looked around and she had all the agents brought in and I knew she was about to kill them all. She asked me to take her hand, closing in on me. As I backed away my hand brushed a gun that must have fallen there from when I was fighting Eva".

As I was reaching the end of the events, I took the memories and placed them back on the tiny boxes that I had them stored in. I had come to terms with what had happened, there was nothing I could do to change what had happened. The events of that day had changed me, though, and there was nothing wrong with that. "She was so young, but I could do nothing to help. The other agents didn't remember anything from when Katya started controlling them, they had no idea what happened. They started calling me 'Cavalry' ever since"

I pushed my chair back and stood up. Skye was quick to mimic my move. I rounded the table and went to stand next to her. I could see her tense up a bit, not knowing what I was about to do.

"I don't blame you, or hate you, for what happened. For what you told me. I understand" I said. Skye was like I was right after Bahrain. And despite not seeing her for years, in that moment, I could see the Skye that I remembered. So I did what Phil did for me. I closed the distance between us and hugged her. Not tightly, just enough and I could tell that the move took her by surprise as she froze in place. "You have to let what happened go" I whispered to her ear, just as Phil had once told me. "You did good since then. Don't let this define you. Let it go"

When I felt her hands slowly wrap around my body, I relaxed into the embrace just as she did. Her grip on my shirt was so firm that I could feel the material wrinkle under her fist's pressure. "I missed you Mel"

I closed my eyes and smiled. "I missed you too Skye"


	76. Meetings And Suspicions

**AN: Hey guys! As always, many thanks to the awesome _MegaDiary123._ To be honest, I haven't really written anything. I just forgot I had two more chapters ready and stumbled upon them today, so I'm posting them for you to have. I will post the other one at some point during the weekend. Until then, I hope you enjoy :)**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

May told me the origin story of the nickname she absolutely hates. I was so not expecting that to be what would follow my confession of all the events during the Battle of New York. And after that intimate moment, I could feel the relationship that we had before I left from the Academy come back to the surface.

I had a contentment-filled smile plastered on my face as I led May to Nick's office, or more like floor, where I knew he and Maria were waiting for us. I didn't let it disappear from my face as I opened the double doors, nor did it disappear when we walked and stood close to the two already mentioned people. Maria came close to me, not too close, and nodded her head. Had it been before the whole Phil situation she would have hugged me but she was still keeping her distance. I returned the nod and turned to look at the Pirate.

He simply turned to look at me, from where he was standing in front of some huge screens on the wall, and then his gaze went to May. As he was standing on the other side of the room, he made a move to go towards the senior agent, only for May to get to him before he even made a second step. "I apologise in advance, sir" she said and without waiting for a reply from the Director she punched him straight in the jaw.

The moment May's first made contact with Fury's face, my jaw hung open. Even though I wasn't facing her, I was almost certain that Maria's reaction to what just happened was similar, if not the same, to mine.

By the time I managed to shake myself from the trance that I was in, May had returned to her spot next to me as Fury was still rubbing the sensitive spot, which no doubt would soon be soon graced with a bruise. His eyes never left May's form as she moved in the room. "Can't say I didn't deserve that" he confessed. "Which is why I'm gonna let it slide, but let's not make a habit out of it" he finished and returned back to his desk, his hand moving to take a panel at the side of it.

He pressed a button and the windows of the room turned black, hindering the light and anyone who would dare try to spy on our conversation, and the door was shut closed if the _click_ that I heard was any indication. Soft light was turned on to illuminate the various screens on one end of the room. All the information that we had regarding the holes in the firewalls, as well as all the intel that the team gathered in the latest mission were being displayed.

I walked up to the main screen and looked at Alexander Pierce's, a.k.a. the Secretary's, photograph.

He was actually one of the first people added into the suspect list as he had both the access and the money to back what was happening. What we still lacked was the motivation behind his actions. Which was why Fury was keeping a close eye on him and his moves, and especially the S.T.R.I.K.E. team which he founded.

That was also the reason why despite his Level he didn't have access into Phil's resurrection files, anything to do with T.A.H.I.T.I. project or the Avengers.

"Buckle in guys" I said as I was handed a table from Maria, my fingers already starting working without looking at what I was typing. "We are in for a really long ride"

* * *

 _Ward's POV_

Ever since I joined Coulson's team there have been way too many changes in the variables, a major one being the newly addition of Skye. A person who I hadn't thought about or seen in years, appeared out of thin air and I was back at square one. Having no idea who she was, why she left the Academy or when she got back, I didn't know what to expect. I even asked Garrett but he was just as clueless. And so I was left to slowly learn more about her.

She still had the hand-on-hand combat skills that I remembered from our days at Operations. And she was still similarly secretive.

Despite me having studied about everyone in the team before Coulson even suggested I tagged along, the girl's case was not the same. On top of that, she seemed to have gained way more trust from the other agents than I had, in way less time. True, this wasn't hard when it came to FitzSimmons, I could still recall how tight her and Simmons were back in the day and if my memory didn't fail me they used to be roommates as well.

Coulson still had his reservations about her and it was clear. Probably because of how abruptly she showed up. But after the Amador case, even he had started warming up to her. But Coulson wasn't my main concern, after all he trusted me enough.

No, my main concern was Melinda May. _The Calvary._

Despite her and Coulson bumping heads at a few missions, the history they shared was clear as day to someone who knew about it. And no matter what facade May put up, she cared for the team as well. But the most surprising thing was neither of the above. It was how easily she had come to accept Skye and how they spent much of their time in the cockpit. A 'don't enter' area when it case came to anyone but Skye and sometimes Coulson. This was one of the things that, when Skye showed up, went against the research that I had made and it had completely not been accounted for. Because every evidence showed how closed off and alone May was, but this was not the case with the younger agent.

It's been more than a week since the mission that started in Sweden and finished in Belarus, and Skye seemed more on edge than she usually was. I just couldn't put my finger on it. It felt as if the slightest wrong move from my part would alert her and my cover would be blown.

The girl was a wild card. One that I would have to keep a close eye on. As the saying goes… 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.

I didn't have any friends really, for one of the first lessons Garrett taught me was not to trust anyone, especially him. And I feared that if I got close enough to her, I wouldn't be able to help it and I would get attached. And attachment was forbidden.


	77. Girl In The Flower Dress

**ΑΝ: I know it's not the weekend anymore, and I do apologise for the delay, but here is the latest chapter. Thank you _MegaDiary123_ for putting up with me and a big thank you to all readers out there! I hope you all enjoy. **

_All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"You heard Coulson get up this morning?" I asked May in a hushed tone as we went through our Tai Chi sequence. At the silence that followed I continued, "I picked up his movements moments after I woke up. And I didn't get much sleep last night"

The ever so stoic May continued her forms as if she hadn't heard anything, but I knew better. She would breach the subject when she wanted and not a moment before. All I could do was give her information to think upon and she would come to me when she wanted. That was why I was surprised when I heard her voice, actually expecting a reply to follow. "It's been more than a dozen days than the meeting with the Director, and we've been doing Tai Chi together every morning since". I was actually a little surprised she didn't say anything about Coulson, but I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up in the first place. "What do you say we spar? Lay down the mats and go a few rounds?"

My whole attention was on her as I stopped my, otherwise, fluid movements abruptly and let my arms fall to my sides. "You want to spar?" I asked, wanting to verify that what I just heard was not a figment of my imagination.

"I want to see how much you have improved for myself. I have seen you spar sometimes with Ward, but you could say that I am curious to see how far you've come" she came to a stop next to me and turned to look at me. "Unless you are afraid" she raised an eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"I am not" I quickly supplied. "It's just… well, I don't want to push you. I don't want you to do something you are not comfortable with" I honestly phrased.

She scoffed at that. "When have I done anything I didn't want to do?" Was all she said as she went to the side to start preparing the cargo for what was to follow. "But since we are doing this, we are doing it right. No protection equipment and I want to get a proper look at what you can do".

"Fair enough" I agreed as I went to help out. "I promise I will start easy on you" I said, a smirk on my face.

I could feel the eye roll even though I was not facing the woman. "I have seen you spar with Ward before you know. I told you as much. I know what to expect and you holding back will make it way easy for me to take you down" Even though I still had my back on her she threw my water bottle at my direction. I felt it coming before it even left her hand, and so I swiftly turned and grabbed it before it hit me. "And _no vibrations_ " she said the last part quietly in case we had a third set of ears listening to our conversation.

I brought my free hand to my chest. "I would never" I said as if wounded she even suggested such a thing. "I wouldn't even do that to Ward during a sparring match, let alone you". After downing a gulp of water, I started stretching my muscles in preparation. "Plus, I'm even holding back with him. My brother was my S.O. while I trained with my sister a lot as well. Let alone Maria" I said without wanting to give out Clint's and Natasha's names. "Have you talked with them recently by the way? I am sure you want to know why they kept the secret" I said and walked on the mat, waiting for May to do the same.

"No. No, I have not" she said as she mimicked my movements. "We've got a lot on our plate right now, and I have no time to spare on something like this. You said it was classified and even though I'm sure they would have liked to inform me, I was not in a good place mentally either. I understand why they didn't"

And with that she stood still facing me.

I took a deep breath and walked the remaining distance before copying her stance. I took a deep breath and pushed my powers down, silencing them.

The constant radar that I had mentally created grew quiet and it was a very satisfying feeling. Having a buzzing 24/7 in my head could be tiring and annoying, but I had learned to live with it. But, every once a while, and when I knew that nothing bad was going to happen in the near future, tuning it down was like taking a deep breath of clean air after being underwater for a very long time. I let out a breath and opened my eyes, my gaze holding May's. This was going to be interesting.

Just as May was about to make a move, a beeping sequence echoed through the cargo hold letting us know that we had an alert for a new mission. "Saved by the bell" May said as we both made our way to the debriefing room.

We were the last ones to arrive as everyone else had been on the sofas right outside the meeting place. Coulson already had the picture of a person up in the screen and started talking as soon as we walked in. "Chan Ho Yin" he pointed at said person. "Just a struggling street performer until a few years ago when Mr. Chan began to exhibit moderate pyrokinetic abilities"

My head shifted from looking at Chan's picture to Coulson's face and back to the picture. This would be the first mission since I was added to this team that was related to another powered individual. That is if you don't count Mike Peterson whose added powers were clearly artificial. "So what gave him powers?" I faintly heard Fitz ask.

"Still under investigation, but Chan lived near the decommissioned Wan Ta nuclear plant when it caught fire. To our knowledge no other resident had exhibit similar trades". Coulson said. Well, that was reassuring.

I could see Jemma from across the room, her eyes sparkling as her mind was working. "So how did we find out about him?"

"An informer saw him lighting torches in a street show…" it was May's input, "…with his pinky"

Coulson nodded at that. "Brought it to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention. We told him to keep his abilities under wraps. He's been in the Index ever since"

Oh, yes. _The Index_. I remembered one time when my name and my abilities were in there, that was until Fury decided to scrape everything about me and the rest of the Avengers, all of whom but one were part of the Index as well. Yes, even Tony and Natasha. Tony, despite not having any superpowers, was in because of his suits. And Natasha, well… Natasha came in the organisation in an unconventional way. They needed to keep an eye on her for a while and then she just remained in the list until she wasn't anymore. Clint was actually the only one whose presence didn't grace the list. That lucky bastard.

My thoughts were interrupted by the team leader's voice continuing his narrative. "Mr. Chan was a low risk individual, so he was assigned a case agent who checked in with him every few days. That's how we discovered him missing". He pressed something at the pad he was holding and a video call appeared on the screen, with various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents going through an apartment, probably Chan's.

May moved around the table, which was in the middle of the room, and stepped closer to the screen. "Hello, agent Kwan. How are you?" She started speaking in Mandarin. I had picked up the language from the time I stayed with her after she first found me, always finding it interesting. And then I studied it while in the Academy and later on when S.H.I.E.L.D. started training me again to become an agent with Clint. I wasn't fluid in it, but I was pretty good at them, both understanding and speaking the language.

Agent Kwan nodded his head to May's direction as a greeting. "Not as good as I could be".

"Everyone, this is agent Kwan, Chan Ho Yin's case agent". From the corner of my eye I saw FitzSimmons wave at the man and I had to hide a smirk that rose on my face because of their antics. "What can you tell us?"

"Not much I'm afraid. Chan is a magician. So at first I thought he made himself disappear" he said, clearly very satisfying with himself for coming up with that.

This time, instead of a smirk I had to try and suppress an eye roll. Thankfully, Coulson asked white quickly after agent Kwan had spoken and so I could focus on that. "The file says you caught him violating his Index agreement before". It was not a question.

"On two separate occasions, claiming we are 'hindering his artistic expression'. But late last night, he was taken by professionals. The only thing they left behind was this scrap of aluminised material" he said and lifted his hand, where he was holding said material, for us to see.

"Fireproof clothing" Jemma said, almost as if talking to herself.

Ward actually looked puzzled. "So, whoever took him knew about his power"

Agent Kwan smiled sadly at our inputs. "Yes, and we believe we know why. The last few days, the Tech division discovered a crack into our data stream. It's the same Cyber-Punks who hacked us before. Somehow, they got in again. It's the Rising Tide". _Fuck_ , I mentally thought. For some reason everyone in the room turned to look at me, but at the same time no-one spoke. "Hello? You got really quiet. You guys are still there?" Kwan asked.

"Give me a few minutes" I moved closer to the table and closed Chan's documents while I opened a program to start looking for whoever hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. "Agent Kwan, we will chase this thing from our side, you keep working from Hong Kong and inform us if you have any news" Coulson said, and after a quick dismiss closed his window and turned around once again. Though my eyes were trained on the lines of coding I was typing, I knew he was watching me closely.

No-one spoke as I kept typing away, my fingers flying over the digital keyboard. I was mentally beating myself up while I was still trying to find the digital print that the information had been leaked from.

"How close are we?" I could hear the restlessness in Coulson's voice.

"Almost there" I replied, without moving my eyes from my work.

Fitz and Jemma who had been watching close as well and could sort of understand what I was doing provided some input for the rest of the team to have a general idea of what I was doing. "She's identifying the remote-access trojan and the infected endpoint—", Fitz started only for Jemma to finish his sentence for him.

"And is searching for a TCP to correlate the hypertext with signature information and then—"

"Bob is your uncle" Fitz added while I was closing in on my goal.

I faintly heard the rest of the team whispering at the back, but I didn't care about what they said. "We got an origin" I said but kept working onto finding outa the identity of the person. "Austin, Texas. Really close to getting a name as well. I'm in the system of the cafe that our hacker worked out of. Gonna check if any credit-card charges match with any known hacker and… we got a hit" I finished as I pulled Miles photo on the big screen. "That will be Miles Lydon"

Still looking at the picture, Coulson asked "You know him?"

But before I even have the chance to reply FitzSimmons spoke again, Jemma starting this time. "A lot of people do. He infiltrated the Kremlin"

"Yeah, the picture of, uh, Putin shirtless on horseback that was his hack" Fitz continued.

"It was also his hack that got Chan kidnapped" Ward silence the science twins.

"We need to bring him in. May, set course for Austin" and when May confirmed she had already done so through the tablet that she was holding, he continued. "Any ideas?" He looked around the table.

"If I may" I started without hesitating and Coulson nodded. "While I was undercover I worked with Miles a lot. If we bring him in he will refuse to cooperate and I doubt we will get anything out of him"

"What do you think we should do then?"

"Well…"


	78. Information Extraction

**AN: Hey guys! I'm sorta back :) First things first, many thanks to my awesome Beta _MegaDiary123._ Now, a welcome to all the new readers, I hope you enjoy the story so far, and a sorry to all the old ones for taking so long to upload. I hope I'll be able to get the next chapter done much sooner. Until then...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"Why are you doing this?" I heard Jemma from the entrance of my pod. I sigh and pull my t-shirt all the way down, looking through my clothes for another jacket to wear on top.

"Jemma…" I trail off with a slightly annoyed tone leaking in my voice. Ever since I laid out the plan and Coulson approved of it she has been anything but supportive.

When I keep looking and don't say anything else she resumes. "You don't have to. I am sure if we bring him in we can learn where he leaked the information to. You don't even know if your cover is still intact. It can't be too hard to—"

"Jemma" I interrupt her before she rambles away. We didn't have the time and in that moment I didn't have the patience to deal with this. "We are doing this. _I_ am doing this. It's our best option, okay? Why are you fighting with me on this?" I question. I turn around, jacket in hand, and step closer to the scientist. I look at her and see something that I can't quite place in her eyes. "What's wrong?" I speak gently and my hand lands on her shoulder, rubbing the area.

"It-It's just that…" she lets out a sigh and shakes her head. Brushing my hand off her she takes a step back. "I'll see you when you get back". She makes a move to leave but I won't let her.

I don't grab her this time, just whisper her name softly and it's enough to make her stop. "Please, I don't like this. Talk to me?" It came out as a question. "You know you can tell me anything" this did not though, it was a statement that both of us knew was true. "I don't like having to go knowing that something about this mission bothers you". May's voice came through the speakers, telling us that we need to prepare for landing. "Please, Jemma?"

She takes a step back and tries to smile, but she never was a good liar. "I'll see you later Skye" she said and with that she headed down to her lab.

I let out a frustrated breath. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of any reason why Jemma would be acting this way and it was throwing me off way more than I liked to admit. I strapped myself down to one of the sofas. I couldn't think of that now, I had to prioritise the mission. But I would get to the bottom of this.

* * *

I have already sent a text to Miles, I found the phone number he's currently using by actually hacking in his phone. We had lost contact after I blew up my cover after all and if I actually still had his number, which he changed quickly after I joined the Bus' team, I would have already handed it over.

I was waiting for him in the apartment that I had found he lived in at the moment in Austin and waited for him to 'escape' my team and come back here.

I was not disappointed soon after when Miles rushed in the room, slightly out of breath and locking the door behind him, franticly putting his keys in the keyhole.

"Are you sure they're not following you?" I spoke and he sharply turned to look in my direction, alarmed.

When he realised that it was just me his shoulders relaxed and he shook his head to clear his mind before nodding. "Yeah. Had to pull all the stops, though. Thanks for the text. How did you get in here?" I looked at his with irritation. "Wait, are you mad?"

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked back. "I can't believe you! Why the hell would you hack S.H.I.E.L.D.?" I asked throwing my hands in the air for emphasis.

"Wait a second. What?" He looked completely perplexed. " _'Good to see you, too, Miles'._ I released those files to the world, where they belong. 'Cause that's what we do, Jane" he said as if it was the most obvious thing on the world.

"You don't do that when we are being hunted by them for weeks!" I bite back. "Why would you take such a risk?"

"Seriously? You disappear off the face of the Earth for a month and a half now, right before S.H.I.E.L.D. starts hunting us all, knowing locations and names and you dare ask me that? Why do you care? The fact that they try to corner us doesn't mean that we stop revealing secrets to the world!" He was getting more and more worked up as he spoke. The distance between us slowly lessening as he started walking towards me. "And now that I think of it, why did you come here now? Are you working for them? Did you sell us out?" He was slightly smarter than I had given him credit.

But that wouldn't matter. "You have to be joking. I was hiding, you dumbass! You think they have not been hunting me as well? One of my hacks picked up on their new information on Rising Tide and before I even got the chance to get to you they were hacking me back. I had to go dark or get caught, so excuse me if I chose the former!" I screamed at his face. Then my eyes softened. "I tried to keep tabs on as many people as I could, but you were always my priority and when I saw that your name popped up in one of their searches I tried my best to make sure you had the heads-up" I saw a smirk forming on his face. "why are you looking at me like that?"

The tips of his lips only upped further as he brushed some hair behind my ear. "Did you just call me 'dumbass'?"

"Stop smiling. I'm serious and still pretty annoyed that you would take such a risk" I said but made it look like I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Sure you are" he said. When I gave him an eye roll he laughed. "I'm sorry, I can't help it. I've been missing you like crazy" he bent down and our lips connected briefly before parting away.

I let a giggle escape. "I've missed you too, Miles" and with that I grabbed his t-shirt neck and pulled down, meeting his halfway in a more heated kiss. Just as it started getting more heated in the room, the door bust open and May with Coulson walked in, guns in hands and aimed at us. "Shit" I said and made a move to get out from the widow only for May to catch up with me and grab my arm and press the gun on my side. "Don't even think about it" she said in a low, warning tone.

Miles, who had still to move waited until Coulson got behind him and cuffed him. May did the same to me. "You said that you lost them" I told him, sounding irritated.

"That's enough for now" Coulson nodded at May and then a black bag was thrown over my head. As May led me out of the room, I heard Coulson speak once more. "We'll take them in separately. You take her and I got this guy over here. I'll go on ahead"

When the sound of their steps disappeared and my vibrations had confirmed that their car had driven off I got myself free from the shackles and handed them to May before taking the bag off my head. "I guess that went well" I said as I rubbed my wrists.

May rolled her eyes at me and then moved towards the study area of the house. "Take what you need, we should get out of here soon" she spoke as she looked for a laptop. I shook my head and moved the opposite direction, towards a large bookcase that Miles had. I reached down and, after saving some books away, I started looking under the shelves. "What are you doing?" I heard May as she came back into the room.

"Just, give me a second. And… ah! Here we go" I said in triumph as my fingers brushed an area with a different texture than the bookcase's wood. I took the laptop that was saved there in a thin, secret drawer, along with some hard drives that were also placed in that space.

"How did you—?"

"I scanned the whole room when I walked in and there was something slightly off with this bookcase" I said as if it was the most obvious thing. "Plus, as I said, I have worked with Miles a lot… closely. I know him, I know his little tricks".

I walked ahead of May to the car parked outside and we soon found ourselves in silence as we drove back to the Bus. I had Miles' computer on my lap all the way there. I used a USB stick that I carried most of the time with me, uploading T.A.D.A.S.H.I. and with his help it was pretty easy to get the files and the information that I was looking for.

"I never asked" I heard May said as I kept typing. "Who's your digital assistant?"

I didn't diminish the speed with which my fingers were flying over the keyboard as I answered. "It's Stark's present. He's a User Interface that he made me after New York. He knew I would have to go on a mission at some point. So he used a similar algorithm to that of J.A.R.V.I.S., only Tee is exclusively mine and he doesn't have access to him unless I grant it, or if his protocols are over-ridden because of an emergency"

"Jarvis?" she asked and only then did I realise that not a lot of people actually knew of his A.I.

I mentally slapped myself in the face but it manifested as a simple head shake. "Another time" I replied as I saw the Bus closing in. I closed the laptop after transferring all the files that needed to be transferred in another USB, which I handed to May as soon as we parked. "Give this to Ward, should be enough to make him talk". May in return nodded and when we exited the vehicle she cuffed me again and, once more, threw the bag over my head.

I had the mental image of the Bus integrated to my brain by that time, so despite May guiding me to the Cage where Miles was being held, I knew where to step and when to turn so May's help was more for the record than anything else. As soon as the door opened, I was roughly thrown to the chair, one of my hands was uncuffed so the cuff's chain went around a pipe connected to the table and then my free hand was once again restricted, May actually tightening it more so than before. "Hey, watch it!" I yelled at her just as she took the bag off my head and then she left the room, violently shutting the door behind her just for a more dramatic effect.

I shook my hands, as if to test the cuffs and the metal hurt my wrist, where May had tightened it. I intentionally took a sharp breath and Miles was once more alert. "Hey, hey. Take it easy" he said and placed his hands on mine. He was in the same predicament as I was, so our hands were really close to one another. "Don't hurt yourself" he said and gently rubbed the red area around my wrist.

I let out a sigh. "I'm glad they didn't do anything to you. When they took us separately I didn't know what to think" I wrapped my fingers around his.

He smiled at that. "Don't worry, they didn't do anything. Other than deny me my basic rights!", he titled his head and yelled in the empty room, clearly aware of the cameras and microphones. "I guess due process isn't really S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol". He turned to look back at me. "How are you doing? They took their sweet time bringing you, are you okay? Did they do anything to you?", concern was leaking into his voice.

"Don't worry" I replied, squeezing our holdings hands. "Other than the rough treatment all they did was ask me questions"

"Questions?", that seemed to interest him.

"Yeah. They kept asking me who you sold the information to" I could feel him tense, him heart rate picking up a bit but I didn't comment. "I kept telling them that that's not who we are, that we don't sell information only give it back to the public" I smiled at him and he tried to mimic it to the best of his ability. "They wouldn't believe me but I know you. And I know how important information freedom is to the both of us" I moved forwards and he did the same as I pecked him on the lips. "Though I'm still fucking furious with you" I said as I sat back down and released my grip to his hands. If I could fold my hands over my chest I would. "I was doing just fine and then I risked my neck for you and I got caught" I huffed.

"Hey, hey" he tried, his hands opening as wide as the cuffs would allow. "I really thought I lost them! They shouldn't have been able to follow after I lost them in the highway. They must have had a second team keeping track of me"

"Like that's making it any better. At least they shouldn't be able to hold us in here for long, someone's gonna come in sooner than later. And since the only thing we've done is supply for the public it can't be too bad, can it?" I asked, hope sparkling in my eyes.

And… he bought it. "Of course"

It was at least half an hour until Ward marched in the room. To let us, or more specifically Miles, sweat for a bit.

A file was dropped on the table and Ward stared at Miles, arms folded over his chest. "She's been defending you, saying you're a straight up guy". His eyes traveled to the file and then back to Miles' face. "So I'm going to give you a chance. Do you want to tell her, or should I?"

Miles' whole demeanour went in defence. "I don't have to listen to you—"

"There goes your chance" Ward didn't even let him finish as he grabbed the folder and opened it, taking out one check after the other and slowly placing them on the metal surface. "Your boyfriend here made a few deposits in the days following the leak. All said… it's about a million dollars"

I looked at the evidence in front of me with my mouth hanging open. "What?"

"I can explain—" Miles was quick to say but this time I was the one to interrupt him.

"Did you sale information?" When I saw that he wasn't going to reply I yelled at him. "Miles?! Yes or no? Did you?" I pressed and he caved.

"Yes. Yes, but—"

"Oh, you're so dead!" I stood up the chair toppling on the floor behind me. "What the hell were you thinking? And to think I came out of hiding for you!"

"It was a million dollar" he tried to amend and make me see logic. "A million dollars" he repeated whispering. "It could change my life… our lives. I was gonna look for you and we could finally live like we deserve. And that woman was harmless. I looked into it" he stated with confidence.

"Are you kidding me? No one with good intentions pays that kind of money for information! Did you even think about that?!" Ward righted my chair up and made me sit, seeing that my character was getting pretty upset.

"Of course I did!" Miles yelled back. "I would never have done it if I thought—"

"Who is this woman you're referring to?" It was time to get some answers and Ward's question was a great way to start getting them.

"A fan of the Rising Tide, some rich girl in a flower dress. She knew all about me, said I had a gift. She thought people like us deserve more" I made a quiet comment about how much more he deserves but he ignored it. "She pointed me to a Chinese S.H.I.E.L.D. feed wanted me to crack it." He lifted his shoulders nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes at that. "You thought that was harmless?"

"I checked the data stream. It didn't seem like anything you and I hadn't already put out there, Jane. And I traced the account where the money came from to make sure it wasn't some evil corporation. It was just an eco-research lab. Otherwise, I would never—"

"Ecological research?" Ward picked up to it and asked.

"Yeah, insects, some study with centipedes what's more harmless than that?" He said as if it was the most harmless thing on the planet. And normally it would be, had it actually be the insect.

Silence engulfed the room as he finished his sentence and I moved back to my chair. "I need to look into that and I think we are finished here" I said and looked at Ward, lifting my hands as an indication of what to do. He took the cuff keys off his belt and released me. I rubbed my wrists.

"What the hell's happening?" Miles asked.

"The location of the research lab is in the laptop you brought back, we are already on our way there, Skye. Agent Kwan will meet us there, we need to come up with an action plan" he said and left the room.

"Skye? What is going on here, Jane?" Miles asked, still not catching up.

I let out a breath and turned around to look at him. "What is happening is that you've been played and you're gonna sit tight until we try to fix your stupid mistake" I was about to close the door behind me as I left the room. "By the way, you're a terrible kisser" I said and then made my way to the debriefing room.


	79. It's Going Down

**AN: Hello there! As always, *thumbs up* to _MegaDiary123_ for being awesome. The first month of the year is over and so here is the next chapter. I hope it is enough to keep you interested in the story until the next upload. So, until next time...**

 _All rights go to Marvel_

* * *

 _Jemma's POV_

From when Skye had left for the undercover mission and up to this point we hadn't directly spoken to each other. She was too… preoccupied with Miles before and now we had just finished laying out the plan for when we landed in Hong Kong. We were only half an hour out, and then we wouldn't be able to talk any time soon because the moment the Bus touches the airfield she is part of the strike team that will go to bring Chan Ho Yin back.

"You're avoiding me" I said, hands folded over my chest as I watched her change her clothes for the second time the same day.

She didn't even try to hide her scoff. "Am I now?", she replied with her own question as she lifted her shirt over her head leaving her only in her sports bra and tight black leggings. Having shared a room for a while in the Academy and then when she was first being trained after the years apart, that sight was nothing I wasn't used to. That didn't mean I didn't admire her physique any less than I had the previous years.

She threw the more colourful t-shirt that she was wearing to the side of the room with more force than I expected and I couldn't help but look at Skye. Really look at her. Her shoulders a bit slumped as she gripped the back of her chair so hard that her knuckles were white and I was sure that if she applied a bit more force, or her powers in any way, it would break. Her breathing was ever so slightly faster than it normally was, but for Skye that was out of character.

I opened my mouth to say something as I was about to take a step closer, but my jaw closed shut and I stilled when she lifted her hand. "Look, I genuinely don't know what your problem is. You're the one who has been avoiding me ever since I suggested the plan of me going undercover. And ever since I came out of the Cage you haven't as much as spared me a look" she shook her head as she pulled down a new black shirt. "Actually no, that's a lie. I know you were looking at me, I _saw_ you…" and the way she said it let me know it was through her vibrations, "…but every time I turned your way you looked away"

I couldn't say she was wrong. I had been the one who would turn my gaze elsewhere, but she didn't make a move to talk to me specifically! It wasn't like it was entirely my fault. I was not avoiding her per se, I was just not seeking her.

"I still don't know what the big deal was with the mission" she confessed, her voice remaining low. This conversation was clearly just for my ears. "So no, I haven't been 'avoiding' you as you so delicately said. I have been giving you space to sort out whatever it is you need to sort out because this mission is not finished yet and we have more pressing matters at hand".

I saw her take out a black case where she put her thumb to be scanned at a mini screen, and when she got the green light she slightly vibrated the whole thing before it was unlocked. The black gauntlets I was very familiar with were taken out and securely placed in her backpack. When she turned around she saw me still staring at her back. We both knew what, even her thinking to take the gauntlets with her meant. Especially given that she was not supposed to reveal herself. Not that she wanted to.

She sighed as she tidied the room back to how it was before exiting and waiting for me to do the same. The worry must have been written clear as day on my face because her features softened and the annoyed vibe that she had before dispersed into thin air.

She gently brought me close to her as her arms wrapped round my back. "I really want us to talk about what's happening when I get back. Please?" She asked just as gently when my arms recuperated the action.

"Of course" I said as May's voice came through the speakers letting us know to prepare for landing. Together we moved to the sofas were we strapped in and waited. Our arms were still linked my thumb rubbing the back of her hand, not willing to let go just yet. "Promise me to be careful?"

"When am I not careful?" She resorted with her signature smile.

I left a small laugh escape my lips at her answer. Lifting one brow I turned to look at her, "Do you, honestly, want me to answer that?"

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

I was pleasantly surprised when Ward didn't argue too much about being the one to oversee Miles in the Bus and let May, Coulson and myself handle the fieldwork. As soon as the plane had touched down, the three of us had taken one of the unmarked SUV's and headed to the Centipede Base.

There we were joined by agent Kwan and more S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the Hong Kong base. "Building has five floors. The first four are research. Fifth is listed as maintenance but uses most of the building's energy" Coulson explained as soon as the team to infiltrate the building was assembled.

"Either they're guarding the world's largest vacuum…" Kwan said only for Coulson to finish, "…or that's where Chan's being held" he pointed to the rest of the agents that were divided into two teams. "Send you ' _B_ ' and ' _C_ ' teams through the tunnels to secure the lowest floors. Warn them that the Centipede's serum is highly explosive" he explained and Kwan did just that.

He looked at me and then back at Coulson. "Understood. Where do we go in?"

Coulson actually smiled at that. "The three of us are going in through the roof" he then turned to me. "You know where the servers are?" He questioned.

I nodded. "I've seen the schematics for the buildings. They're on the lowest floor. All I need to do is put this bad boy in and I'll have remote access" I said as I got a USB out of my pocket. "I will meet you as soon as I can after that"

And with that I left. I was glad for once that Coulson didn't question whether I could make it. I had made the point that if I went in alone I would work so much faster and much stealthier than if I had another agent with me. And with May backing me up, especially after she learned that I was also trained by Natasha, was the only reason why he let his 'two agents/buddy system' rule slide.

Thought, to be honest, I had lied a little bit about some part of the mission.

The stealth part.

That was what was going through my head as I made my way to the server room as one guard after the other headed my way. The alarm had gone off not too long after May and Coulson went in. The facility soon going into lockdown. _"Status update"_ I heard May in my com.

"Give me a minute and we're good to go" I said as I dealt with the final guard and plugged the USB in the server. I activated T.A.D.A.S.H.I. immediately and let him send everything from the base in a remote hard drive that I had on my person while he also took down the lockdown protocols. "You're good to go" I said as I started making my way to the top floor. I was still controlling Tee from my phone, but he didn't need much help. He had his instructions and I was confident he would not disappoint. "How are you doing up there?" I asked as I was running up the stairs.

"Agent Kwan is dead and Chan has to be brought down" Coulson immediately replied. "The tranquilliser did nothing to him and it was his last chance"

He said in my comms just as I exited the door that the stairs had led me to. I heard someone yell. I was about to turn around the corner where the yelling had just come from to try and see what happened. That's when I bumped into Coulson and May, who was holding a syringe in her hand. I don't even need to ask what the plan is before Coulson starts explaining it. "From what I understand this is an extreme dose that boosts his powers. Plan's to inject him and then, with the help of Miles, shut the building down and redirect his flames through the venting system out of the building and onto the sky"

"With all due respect, sir" I started as soon as he finished. "I don't trust Miles at the moment. He is a wild card and despite the remote access to the buildings computers, I wouldn't give him the access. _Yes_ —" I continued when I saw he was about to argue, "—Ward is on the Bus so he wouldn't try anything funny, but it's still too much of a risk"

He contemplated what I said for a solid two seconds. "What do you suggest we do?"

I took a deep breath, knowing that was I was about to say wouldn't be something he would agree easily to. "You and agent May get out of here. I take the serum, and postpone him enough for him to explode. The building will probably come down, and there's nothing we can do to save it. But this way all the research they have here will be destroyed and they won't be able to use it. I have already transferred enough files for us to have a lead on Centipede"

"But how are you gonna get out?" May was the one to question my plan while Coulson was still staring at me with a skeptical look on.

I took my phone out to show them the schematics map of the building. "I already know everything there's to know about this building. I have found a route that I can use to get out before he explodes. I will just need to delay him enough so that the two of you and the rest of the agents get out of the building before I insert the serum. I'm guessing it will be affecting him quickly?"

I saw that Coulson was about to argue, but fire was shot from the corridor next to us and we all felt the heat. "We will meet you outside" Coulson said and took the syringe from May to hand it to me.

I nodded, greatly appreciating the newfound trust that he seemed to show me during this mission.

The two of them left me behind and I quickly took the gauntlets out of my bag and wore them. I let my powers flow from my centre, up to my shoulders and down my hands. I let a small smile appear on my face at the familiar buzz and the lack of constant worry I had on the back of my mind about anyone finding out about my abilities.

My mind map picked up on Chan closing in and just as he was about to turn around the corner and send a fireball to my direction, I ducked under his attack and quickly found myself on the other end of the corridor.

"You don't have to do this Chan" I said in Mandarin. Confident that the only other person from the team that could understand me was May. "S.H.I.E.L.D. can help you, there's no reason for you to go down like that"

Chan smirked at that, his hands coming to his sides, the flames on them disappearing momentarily. It seemed that he was no longer immune to his powers, if the fresh burn marks on his arms were any indication. "Chan is dead. I told so to the other agents as well. I am Scorch now"

In an instant he shot his arm out and fire generated from his fingers, traveling in my direction in a rapid speed. Expecting him to do so, I immediately lifted my hands up and created a vibrational shield that blocked the fire's way. Surprised by that, Scorch stopped his attack.

I gently started manipulating the vibrations around the buildings foundations, all the way underground and started tearing them apart. Not too fast, just fast enough. "Who are you?" Scorch asked me.

"I am like you, gifted" I replied still not speaking English. "I have learned to control my power. And I am using it for good, to help people"

 _"_ _Skye, we're out"_ Coulson's voice rang in my ear.

I started destroying the building from the inside out in a more rapid pace. "Let me help you" I told Chan as I took a small step closer to him. "There are other people like you, like us out there. If you let me bring you in, we can help you"

The thoughtful expression that he had on disappeared as soon as I suggested to bring him in. Not that I expected anything else. "Never!" He all but screamed at me as he unleashed his power once again.

But that didn't matter in the least.

I had closed in enough to be able to side-step his attack and inject the dose in his neck. He instantly fell on his knees and started losing the small control he had over his powers as they grew and grew extremely fast.

I lifted my hand and blasted a hole to the back of the building, opposite to where Coulson and May would have come out of. Just to make sure that I was safe from prying eyes. Just before I jumped off the fifth floor, I sent a vibrational wave throughout the whole construction, making the already weak foundations collapse onto each other and the building started to come down.

Oh yeah, because the path that I had planned from the schematics didn't actually exist… but don't tell Coulson.

I felt like what I guessed Tony felt when he flew in his suit, before gravity took precedent and I started falling. I directed some quakes to leave from the pass of my hand and my feet, slowing my decent ever so slowly. If I were to resemble something, or someone, I think it would be what Tony would look like the first time he tried to elevate. Only difference is that I was falling and trying to slow down instead of slowly lifting myself. I had yet to master the art of being able to use my quakes to levitate myself, and my lack of training with my powers lately didn't help. But it was enough for me to slow down ever so slightly so that my landing was a bit smoother than it would otherwise be. Don't get me wrong, I still created a crate, but a much smaller one and I didn't need to absorb as many vibrations from my landing.

But the amount I did absorb I redirected to the building, which was already halfway on its way to being grounded. That was when Chan finally exploded on the top floor and debris started falling all over. If there wasn't the explosion, I would have been able to control where the building would collapse, without much destruction to the surrounding area. But this case was different.

I created a dome around myself as I was standing too close to the building and I had to protect myself. So I waited, until there would be nothing new falling to my head and then with a small vibrational push outwards I unburied myself.

I climbed off the ruins and started making my way around the debris, towards the other agents. "I am good, on my way to you guys" I said on my comm. With so many things happening around at the same time, I had solely focused on making it out of there alive without anyone seeing me and I had zoned out from the voices in my ear, asking me if I was okay.

"Thank God" Coulson's voice was heard just as May let a breath that she must have been holding for a while. "Meet you up front? Will you be able to get there?"

"Sure thing boss" I replied and continued my way.

* * *

 _Raina's POV_

I had managed to leave the building and was on my way to another Centipede Base. We were quite spread out after all.

I was quite far from the base, the car that I was in moving quickly away from the collapsing building behind us. My eyes were still trained on the old Base when I saw someone jump off the back of the top floor. Part of the building fell directly on top of that person, but somehow that part was soon lifted off the ground and a figure walked away and towards the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. How peculiar… That was a very interesting development.

I could feel the smile spread over my face as I turned to look back ahead to the convoy of cars. A very interesting development indeed.


End file.
